The Chosen
by Inglorious DMK
Summary: Kai has been keeping some secrets from the Bladebreakers... namely, that he's one of the Chosen Ten, and that he has a twin sister. You know, little stuff like that... Yaoi, KaixRay and TalaxOC. Hints of TysonxMax. COMPLETE.
1. Prologue: The Mystery Blader

The Chosen Prologue: The Mystery Blader  
  
Author: Kameko-chan Warnings: Yaoi. Pairings: Kai/Ray and Tala/OC in future chapters Notes: The OC is NOT the main character, Kai is. Just in case you're not particularly fond of OC's.  
  
Kai wound his way through the crowd of amateur bladers. 'Hm,' he thought, looking around at the kids, 'no one worth challenging. Looks like they're having fun, though.' Kai immediately banished that thought. Lots of strange thoughts like that had been creeping in to his brain lately, and he didn't know why. He hadn't thought about blading being fun since. 'No,' he scolded himself, 'don't think about it. You need to keep your cool.'  
  
The sullen 18 year old decided to head back to the house he shared with Tyson, Max, Ray, Kenny and Tala when a dirty, scruffy-looking thing stepped in front of him. Kai glared at the girl who dared block his path. "Excuse me."  
  
The girl glared right back. "You are not excused, Kai Hiwatari." She took a step towards him. "I need to talk to you."  
  
"I don't want to talk." Kai tried to go around the girl, but she moved to block him. "Get out of my way!" he yelled, getting frustrated.  
  
The girl pulled a Beyblade from the pocket of her ragged coat. "Then I challenge you, Kai Hiwatari. If I win, you'll talk to me. If you win, I'll leave you alone."  
  
Kai sighed in exasperation. "Fine, then. Let's get this over with."  
  
The two squared off at a nearby stadium. Kai had his classic smirk on his face, totally confident about the outcome of this match.  
  
The unknown girl pulled out an aquamarine blade, a similar smirk also gracing her features. "Just like old times, huh?"  
  
Kai's eyes widened. "What?"  
  
"3, 2, 1, LET IT RIP!"  
  
Kai had no time to ponder the girl's comment. He released Dranzer, and decided to get the match over with quickly. He went with an all-out attack at the blade.  
  
And simply bounced off.  
  
The girl smirked. "My, my, someone hasn't been practicing." She looked almost bored. "Let's get this over with. SHEN-LONG! ATTACK!!"  
  
Kai's eyes widened once more as he watched the blue, Chinese water dragon rise from the girl's blade. 'I know that bit beast.' he thought, catching Dranzer instinctively as it flew by his face. 'But it can't be. can it?'  
  
The girl grinned triumphantly before collapsing, her energy completely spent. Kai rushed over to her side and grabbed her hand. "Elaina?? Elaina, is that you?"  
  
Elaina peered at him through her lavender bangs, brown eyes nearly closed. "Hey, bro. Long time, no see." 


	2. Chapter One: Secrets of the Past

The Chosen  
  
Chapter One: Secrets of the Past  
  
Author: Kameko-chan  
  
Warnings: Yaoi  
  
Parings: Kai/Ray and Tala/OC  
  
Notes: Ooo, I'm having fun with this! The whole 'Chosen Ten' thing will (probably) be explained in the next chapter, this one will be more focussed on defining Elaina's character and getting the rest of the background info dealt with. And the thought-shapes will be explained in the next chapter as well.  
  
___________________________  
  
A million responses sprung to mind... start questioning her, make fun of her, ask her why the hell she decided to find him after six years... any number of very Kai-ish options were available. But all that Kai could do was throw his arms around Elaina and hug her tightly, as though he was afraid that she would disappear on him again. Which he was, of course.  
  
Elaina smiled. "Woah, shortstuff, you're squishing me."  
  
"Shortstuff?!" Kai pulled away and glared. "I am at least half a foot taller than you, Elaina!"  
  
Elaina shrugged. "Doesn't matter, you'll always be my short, skinny, wussy little bro."  
  
Kai sighed. "Remind me why I'm still here?"  
  
"'Cause you looooooooooove me, little bro."  
  
"We're the same age AND I'm taller than you!! Quit calling me little bro!"  
  
"Nu-uh!" Elaina waggled a finger. "I'm exactly 5 minutes and 22 seconds older than you."  
  
"You're impossble!"  
  
"Kai, as much as I'd LOVE to continue catching up on six missed years of sibling rivalry, I think I'm gonna pass out soon."  
  
"Oh," Kai brought himself back to the situation at hand. "Right. I'll have to take you home, I suppose."  
  
"Kai!" Elaina said in mock shock, "I know I'm sexy and irresistable, but we're related!"  
  
"You're not helping." Kai scooped her up. "Quit with the wisecracks."  
  
"Well, seeing as how I'm seriously gonna pass out in about five seconds, that shouldn't be a prob--" Elaina's eyelids fluttered as her strength finally gave out.  
  
"Shit." Kai slung Elaina over his shoulder--she was out cold, she wouldn't care about comfort--and glared at the crowd that had gathered around them. A gap formed in the circle and Kai strode out, headed home.  
  
***  
  
Ray sat at the kitchen table, chin propped up in his hand, bored out of his skull. Everyone else was gone--Max and Tyson were at some sort of exhibition match for charity, Kenny was visiting Mr Dickenson, Tala had gone grocery shopping, and Kai was off doing... well... whatever it was Kai did.  
  
"I'm so BORED." Ray said out loud, trying to make the house feel less empty. "Bored, bored, BORED. Why am I always the one stuck here by myself?" Ray began wandering around the kitchen. "I suppose I could cook something... OH!" Ray got an idea. "Brownies! I haven't made super-fudge brownies in ages, and Kai loves them! Not that I'm making them especially for Kai or something... 'cause it's not like I like him like that or anything... Ack, who am I kidding?" Ray decided that it was pointless to lie to himself, "I like him! I think he's absolutely gorgeous! He's hot, he's mysterious, he can be incredibly sweet... I SO want him." Ray grinned. "There! I said it! Now I just need to tell HIM that..."  
  
Ray began mixing together various ingredients when there was a knock at the door. Actually, it sounded more like a kick, and a rather impatient one at that. Which could only mean one thing...  
  
"Kai!" Ray raced to the door. "You're finally back! I'm making brownies, they'll be ready in about an--" Ray stopped mid-sentence as he opened the door and saw HIS Kai cradling some GIRL in his arms. "Kai? Who's--"  
  
Kai pushed past the raven-haired boy. "I'll explain later, Ray," he said, completely missing the broken-hearted look on the other boy's face. He went to his room and laid Elaina down on his bed, tenderly tucking the flame- print comforter around her. Then he grabbed his desk chair and took a seat next to the bed, preparing to watch and wait for his siter to wake up.  
  
Ray was fuming. How DARE this girl steal Kai's affection?! For it was obvious that Kai cared deeply for her. 'I've been trying for YEARS to get him to open up to me!' he thought angrily, 'And she just waltzes in and practically makes him melt?? It's not FAIR!'  
  
"Ray?"  
  
Ray managed to force his face into it's normal, pleasant look and poked his head into the room. "Yes, Kai?"  
  
"Would you mind making some soup? I don't think she's eaten in awhile, and I'm kind of hungry, too."  
  
Ray barely managed to keep his composure. 'Now I'm cooking for her? What's next??' he wanted to scream. Instead, he said "Sure thing, Kai."  
  
"Thanks, Ray."  
  
Ray sighed. It was almost worth it to get a thanks from Kai.  
  
***  
  
Elaina began to wake up an hour later when she felt Kai poking around her brain. //Hey, quit that, Kai,// she sent, //You know it bugs me when you do that.//  
  
//Oh,// Kai sent back, his thought-shapes startled, //Sorry. Did I wake you?//  
  
//Ya, but it's okay. I should probably drag my lazy ass out of bed anyways.//  
  
//You've only been asleep for and hour.//  
  
//Then it was an hour too long.// Tears gathered at Elaina's eyes. //I've missed you, Kai.//  
  
Kai hugged his sister. //I've missed you, too.//  
  
//And you've got about a million questions that you want to ask, right?// Elaina's thoughts were amused.  
  
//How come you're allowed to dig through my brain, but I can't dig through yours?//  
  
//'Cause I'm better at it.//  
  
"Ahem."  
  
Kai turned to the door. "Oh, hi Ray."  
  
//Wow, he's CUTE.//  
  
//Shut up, Elaina.//  
  
Ray set down the tray, trying not to look at the snuggling pair. "The soup's done, and there's a tray of brownies on the counter, too."  
  
"Thanks." Kai smiled. "Ray, I'd like you to meet someone."  
  
'Great,' thought Ray, 'Here it comes...'  
  
"This is my sister, Elaina."  
  
"...Sister?"  
  
Kai nodded.  
  
Ray launched himself at Elaina. "Wow, it's great to meet you, Elaina! Kai never said he had a sister! This is awesome!"  
  
Elaina laughed. "It's great to meet you, too, Ray! I've seen you in the paper and on TV with the other Bladebreakers, you're a really good Blader."  
  
Ray grinned. "Thanks!"  
  
//He's REALLY cute!//  
  
//Shut UP!//  
  
//Kai's got a cruuuuuuush, Kai's got a cruuuuuuuuush...//  
  
//...well...//  
  
Elaina's eyes went wide. //You DO!! Oh my God, you DO have a crush on him!//  
  
//Quit that! He's gonna notice!// Indeed, Ray was giving Elaina a rather odd look.  
  
"Uhhh..." Elaina thought desparately for a cover, "I just realized! I left my Beyblade in the dish! When Kai and I bladed!"  
  
"Oh," Kai caught on quickly, "Don't worry, I picked that up before we left. I put it back in your jacket."  
  
"Oh, good."  
  
//Good save, sis.//  
  
//Thanks.//  
  
Ray got up. "I'm going to go get my soup and eat in here, if that's alright. I'd like to hear more about your sister, Kai."  
  
Kai smiled. "Sure, that'd be great."  
  
Ray grinned back and headed to the kitchen. 'He smiled! Twice in one day! Whatever you did, Elaina, thank you!'  
  
Elaina turned to her brother. //You like him??//  
  
Kai blushed faintly. //It's no fair asking me in thought-shapes, you KNOW you can't lie with thought-shapes!//  
  
//Well, DUH. That's why I'm not asking in words.// Elaina grinned. //He seems like a real sweetheart. You've got good taste, little bro.//  
  
//Shhh! He's coming back!//  
  
Ray walked back in, balancing his soup bowl and a plate of brownies. "Look at what I brought..."  
  
"BROWNIES!!" The siblings exclaimed together. Kai grabbed the plate.  
  
Ray watched amusedly as the two fought over the plate. 'Kai's acting so... normal,' Ray realized suddenly, 'he looks like any normal teenage boy. He's... happy.'  
  
Kai and Elaina settled the Great Brownie Dispute, got their soup bowls, and finally everyone was seated comfortably.  
  
"So," Ray began, "Why didn't you mention that you had a sister?"  
  
"Well," Kai said, blowing on his soup, "I thought that she was dead, for one."  
  
"What?!"  
  
Elaina laughed. "Maybe you should start at the beginning, Kai. Or perhaps I should, seeing as how there are a few details that even you don't know."  
  
Kai nodded. "Sounds good."  
  
"Okay... well, I should probably mention that Kai and I are twins, so we've been really close ever since we were little. Our Mom died giving birth to us, and Dad... well, he went a little insane. You met him at the Russian Tournament a few years ago, you know him as Boris."  
  
"Boris is your father??" Ray turned to Kai. "Why didn't you say anything?"  
  
Kai's eyes clouded over. "He's no father to me."  
  
"Oh..." Ray cast his eyes down. "Sorry."  
  
"Anyways... Voltaire raised us both to be killing machines. Training, mind alteration, electro-shock therapy... it was hell. Finally, we ran away. Took some money, flew to Japan, and found an abandoned warehouse to crash in. Voltaire still kept tabs on us, of course, he wasn't about to let 8 years of work get away from him.  
  
"When we were 12, he came for me. He thought that I, being the girl, would be easier to turn. But I refused, and he knew that as long as Kai and I had eachother, neither of us would join him. So, he decided that since he had already explained his plan to me, I would be the one to go."  
  
Elaina's eyes began to grow misty. "Luckily, the person he chose to kill me couldn't do it. He let me go, gave me some money, told me to get away. So, I left, hid in the streets for 6 years, keeping an eye on Kai when I could. I didn't want to contact him, because then Voltaire would know for sure that I was alive. But when he was killed a few months ago, I saw my chance. And, here I am." Elaina shrugged. "Not much of a story, huh?"  
  
Ray's eyes were opened wide. "Wow... I can't believe you had to go through all that."  
  
Elaina smiled. "It really wasn't so bad, I had a lot of frie--" She paused, her whole body tensing up.  
  
Kai tried to reach out to her with thoughts, but failed. "Elaina," he said, trying words, "What is it?"  
  
"He's coming." Elaina looked like she had seen a ghost.  
  
"Who?"  
  
Elaina didn't answer. Kai tried once again to reach out with thoughts. This time, he caught something... someone was outside. He felt Elaina reach out hesitantly to the stranger. He felt the unknown person pause. Then he heard something drop outside, and footsteps racing for the door. Elaina bolted out of the room to meet the stranger, Kai following closely behind.  
  
Elaina flung the door open. On the other side, bewildered, was Tala.  
  
Tala stared in disbelief. "Elaina?"  
  
"Tala?"  
  
The two just stood there, staring, for a long moment.  
  
TBC 


	3. Chapter Two: Truth

The Chosen  
  
Chapter Two: Truth  
  
Author: Kameko-chan  
  
Warnings: Yaoi, complicated magic stuff  
  
Pairings: Ray/Kai and Tala/OC  
  
Notes: Okay, finally an explanation on the Chosen. Sorry if it's kind of complicated, hopefully it will make a little more sense as the story goes on.  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
Elaina launched herself into Tala's arms. "Tala! Oh my God, Tala, it's really you!"  
  
"Elaina," Tala breathed, burying his face in the girl's hair, "you're alive."  
  
The two just stood there, holding each other close, until--  
  
"What the Hell?"  
  
Kai peeked out the door. "Oh, hello Tyson, Kenny, Max. Meet my sister, Elaina, who's been missing for six years and apparently has a thing going on with Tala. Oh, and you missed brownies."  
  
"BROWNIES?!" Tyson collapsed onto the sidewalk. "Noooooooo!!!"  
  
Max rolled his eyes. "I think there's more important things to worry about, Tyson."  
  
"There's something more important in life than brownies?" Tyson looked bewildered.  
  
Kai laughed. "I know it's hard to believe, but it's true."  
  
Kenny, Max, and Tyson stared at Kai.  
  
Max was the first to find his voice. "Okay... who are you, and what have you done with Kai?"  
  
Elaina grinned. "He IS Kai. The real Kai, not that cold bastard that you've been dealing with for the past few years."  
  
Kenny scratched his head. "Now I'm REALLY confused."  
  
Ray went and grabbed the groceries that Tala dropped. "Come on, guys. I'll cook some dinner while Elaina and Kai explain things a bit better."  
  
***  
  
Everyone was gathered around the table an hour later, chattering happily about their day (they'd pretty much asked Elaina every question that could be asked).  
  
//Kai?//  
  
//Yes, Elaina?//  
  
//I'm getting a weird feeling from Ray. Do you know what's up with that?//  
  
Kai frowned slightly and felt for Ray's mind-presence. //Wow, you're right. His energy is fuzzy . . . almost like there's something blocking it.//  
  
//You never noticed before?//  
  
//I haven't mind-sent since you disappeared.//  
  
//We need to find out why it's like that, but...//  
  
//It would mean telling them about the Chosen, and the truth about Voltaire.// Kai sighed inwardly. //They were bound to find out anyways, we might as well get it over with. You think it's a magic block?//  
  
//Must be. Will you do the honors? It'll give you an excuse to get close to him...//  
  
Kai glared, then got up from the table and strode over to Ray.  
  
Ray looked up from his plate to see Kai looming over him. "Hey, Kai," he said cheerily, "What is it?" Kai didn't say anything, he simply took Ray's hand in his own. Ray's heart began to race. 'Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmy...'  
  
Kai ignored the other boy and touched his index finger to Ray's hand. A red glow appeared, growing brighter and brighter, until it suddenly shot into Ray's skin. Ray cried out, reaching out and clutching Kai's shoulders.  
  
Tyson rose angrily from the table. "What the HELL did you do to him?!"  
  
Ray put a hand out to stop Tyson. "It's okay, I'm not hurt. I actually feel... better..." He then realized that he was still leaning on Kai. Blushing, he let go and took a step back.  
  
//Let me see your hand.//  
  
Ray looked around wildly. "Who said that?"  
  
Kenny gave Ray a weird look. "Who said what?"  
  
"Didn't you hear that voice?"  
  
"Sorry," Kai said, "I thought maybe you'd spoken in thought-shapes before."  
  
"Thought-shapes?"  
  
"I'll explain later, just let me see your hand."  
  
Ray shrugged and held out his hand. He was surprised to see a golden ankh on his skin. "What's that?"  
  
Kai's eyes went wide. "I can't believe this... three years, and another has been right here."  
  
Ray frowned. "Another WHAT, Kai?"  
  
Kai let go of Ray's hand and sat back down. "Another Chosen." He pulled off his red gauntlet and showed his own hand, a flame marked on it. Elaina took off her glove and showed the water drop imprinted on her own hand. "You're one of the Chosen Ten, Ray."  
  
"The WHAT?"  
  
"The Chosen Ten." Kai frowned. "I guess you're going to need an explanation, since it seems as though no one's told you about it." He looked at his sister. "Elaina, maybe you should explain, you probably know more about it than I do."  
  
Elaina sighed. "Why am I always stuck doing the explaining? Well, the Chosen are a small group of people who possess incredible magical powers. There are only ten of us in the entire world, and each possesses the pure energy of one element. Kai is Fire, I am Water, and it looks as though you are Life. The others are Death, Wind, Earth, Order, Chaos, Light, and Dark. The Chosen also have the power of telepathy, though they can only send detailed thoughts to other Chosen.  
  
"Voltaire knew about the Chosen. He planned to gather us all up, and then use our power to rule the world. The horrible things I told you he did... they were experiments. He was trying to manipulate our powers. That's how Black Dranzer and Black Shenlong were born.  
  
"Dranzer and Shenlong aren't bitbeasts in the normal sense of the word. They are pieces of our souls, infused with our magical energy. Somehow, during one of his experiments, Voltaire managed to extract and corrupt a piece of our souls, creating Black Dranzer and Black Shenlong.  
  
"But, enough about our past troubles. Let's figure something out, Ray. Thing is, if you're one of the Chosen, then that means you must have a twin sister, and she must bear the Death element. Where is she?"  
  
"Twin sister? I don't have a twin sister!"  
  
"But you MUST," Elaina insisted. "All the Chosen have twins with the power opposite to their own. Otherwise, they'd have no one to balance their powers with, and they'd destroy themselves. Seeing as how you're here, and most definitely a Chosen, then you must have a twin."  
  
Ray just stared. "I don't know what you're talking about, Elaina."  
  
//He doesn't remember, Elaina.//  
  
//No shit, Sherlock.//  
  
//He must have a mind block, too.//  
  
//Bravo. Let's take it off.//  
  
//But what if it's to protect him from some horrible incident? I don't want to hurt him...//  
  
Elaina rolled her eyes. //Why don't you ask him what HE wants?//  
  
Kai sighed and turned back to Ray. "Ray, we need to find out what happened to your sister. We need to find all of the Chosen we can."  
  
"I don't HAVE--"  
  
"Trust me, you do. Thing is, Elaina and I will have to remove a mind block. It could be suppressing some traumatizing memories." Kai looked into Ray's eyes. //I don't want to hurt you, Ray.//  
  
Ray shivered at the intensity of Kai's thoughts. "It-it's okay," Ray said, "If I really do have a sister, I want to find her as much as you do." He looked over at Elaina. "Elaina made you so happy..."  
  
Kai smiled. "Okay."  
  
//Kai's got a boooooooooooyyyyyyfriend...//  
  
//SHUT UP! Let's do this.//  
  
Kai and Elaina each place a hand to Ray's forehead. The twins closed their eyes, and warm, golden glow spread over Ray. The two then stepped back and watched as the light gathered in the middle of Ray's forehead before being absorbed into his skin.  
  
The room was silent as Ray stared off into space, gazing at lost memories that only he could see.  
  
TBC 


	4. Chapter Three: Sleep

The Chosen  
  
Chapter Three: Sleep  
  
Author: Kameko-chan  
  
Warnings: Yaoi  
  
Pairings: Kai/Ray and Tala/OC. Possible Tyson/Max, I haven't decided on that yet.  
  
Notes: Sorry for the long, making-little-sense explanation in the last chapter. If you've got any questions, post them or e-mail me and I'll try to answer, okay? Anyways, this chapter (hopefully) will fill in all the little blanks that are left in the story--Elaina and Tala's relationship, Kai's and Ray's feelings for each other (even if they don't know about the other's feelings yet), and of course, Ray's twin. Oh, and you should be able to submit anon reviews now. My bad.  
  
{ } = flashback // // = thought-speak  
  
***  
  
Ray's eyes began to brim over with tears. A childhood of death, destruction, and loss was coming back to him in a rush. Now he knew why someone had blocked off his memories of his parents and sister. He knew the truth.  
  
"She killed them."  
  
Kai winced at the emptiness of Ray's voice. Tears ran down his face, feelings of despair were emenating from him... yet his voice was flat and empty. It tore at Kai's heart like a thousand knives. 'Why did I do this to him? Why didn't I leave him happy and oblivious?'  
  
//Because you were trying to help.// Elaina broke in. //And you may have, just let the guy finish his story.//  
  
Kai sighed and turned his attention back to Ray, who was still staring into space with tears running down his face.  
  
Ray continued in the same flat, monotone voice. "My sister's name was... is... Hannah. She was the sweetest person in the world. She'd never... intentionally... hurt a soul. But despite her best efforts, everything around her seemed to die. We had a pet cat once, and it was dead in a week. She'd always find dead animals on the road. They'd never have a scratch on them. It was as though they'd just dropped dead for no reason.  
  
"One day, I came home from school to find both our parents dead, and Hannah sitting by them and weeping. She broke down, admitted that she'd killed them, that she'd killed all those poor animals too. She swore she didn't mean too, she said she couldn't help it.  
  
"The village elder locked her up. He decided that she posed too much of a threat to the villagers, even with magic blocks on. Then he put the blocks on me, to spare me the pain of remembering." Ray closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them. When he spoke, his voice sounded even emptier. "She's been locked up for six years. They've taken the blocks off, because there's no longer a need for them. She's gone insane... retreated into her own mind and won't come out." Ray's shoulders began to shake. Softly, then getting louder, he started sobbing. Deep, heart-wrenching sobs racked his whole body.  
  
Kai stood up and gathered the crying teen in his arms. Ray buried his face in Kai's shoulder as he was carried to his room. The others simply stared at Kai's retreating back.  
  
Elaina cleared her throat. "Well," she began, "It certainly has been an interesting day. You guys have a lot of info to sort out, so why don't we all catch some Z's? Speaking of which," she turned to Tala, "Where can I crash?"  
  
Tala reddened slightly. "Well, you could take my bed, and I'll sleep on the couch..."  
  
"Nonsense," Elaina said briskly, "I won't kick you out of your own room. We can share," she gave the rest of the group a Look. "Unless anyone here has a problem with that." The others shook their heads. Elaina grinned. "Then it's settled! I'll see you guys tomorrow morning, I'm beat." She stood up and left the room. Tala soon followed.  
  
Tyson looked at Max and Kenny. "Guess we should get some sleep too," he said. "It's been a very weird day."  
  
***  
  
Kai opened the door to Ray's room with some difficulty, as he was still carrying the raven-haired boy. When he finally got the door open and Ray deposited onto his bed, Kai realized something.  
  
Even though they'd been living in the same house for a year and a half, Kai had never seen Ray's room before. He'd never had reason to go in, and Ray had certainly never invited him in. He surveyed his surroundings. 'It's very... Ray,' he decided, gazing at the cat figures hiding around the room, and the large ornamental screen in the corner. He was inspecting some of the wall hangings when he heard Ray call his name softly. Kai walked back to the bed. "Yeah?"  
  
Ray smiled. "Thanks, Kai. For everything. I've just got one favor to ask..." he blushed lightly, but Kai didn't seem to notice. "Would you just stay here until I fall asleep? I just don't really feel like being alone..."  
  
Kai nodded and dragged the chair from Ray's desk to the bed. Ray looked at him for a couple minutes, then seemed to decide that Kai wasn't going anywhere and snuggled into the covers. He was soon fast asleep.  
  
Kai smiled at the teen's sleeping form. 'He looks so gorgeous when he sleeps,' Kai thought to himself before dozing off in the chair.  
  
Ray smiled. He hadn't quite caught Kai's last thought, but he was pretty sure he'd gotten the gist of it. He fell asleep still smiling.  
  
***  
  
Elaina was fast asleep when Tala finally decided to go to bed. At least, he thought she was fast asleep, but when he slipped under the covers Elaina moved into his arms. Whether she was awake or moving out of instinct, Tala couldn't tell. Nor did he care, all that mattered to him was that she was safe in his arms.  
  
He still couldn't believe she was here, it was all too surreal. After that night, he hadn't thought he'd see her again...  
  
{Elaina stands under the glow of the streetlamp. Waiting. Watching.  
  
Tala steps into the circle of light. "Hello."  
  
Elaina runs into his open arms. "Tala, what's wrong?"  
  
Tala doesn't answer for a few minutes, not wanting to let her out of his arms, not wanting to say that awful word.  
  
"Tala?"  
  
"Voltaire..." he starts, unable to tell her, unable to say it...  
  
Elaina pulls away and stares at him with a look of pure and utter emptiness. "He sent you here to kill me, didn't he?"  
  
Tala nods. "But... I can't..." once again, he can't speak. Instead, he hands Elaina an envelope packed with money. "Use this," he says, and then is silent.  
  
Elaina looks at him again, only her eyes showing the heartache she feels. She tucks the envelope away and turns to leave. Pausing a moment, she looks back over her shoulder. "Goodbye," she whispers before melting into the night.  
  
"Goodbye," Tala whispers back, the first tears he's ever cried sliding down his cheeks...}  
  
"Tala?"  
  
Tala snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Elaina. "Yes?"  
  
Elaina's brow was creased with worry. "What's the matter?"  
  
Tala smiled as he tightened his grip around Elaina. "Nothing. Everything's fine." He stroked her hair. "Everything's fine."  
  
***  
  
Tyson stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. And really, one couldn't blame him. The guy had been subjected to ubernice!Kai and had just found out that the sourpuss had a sister who was in some sort of relationship with Tala, and that both had thought her dead.  
  
"It's like a bloody soap opera," he grumbled to the ceiling. As the ceiling wouldn't respond, Tyson picked up his pillow and blanket and trotted across the hall to Max's room.  
  
"Hey Max, you asleep?"  
  
Max glared at Tyson. "I was ALMOST asleep."  
  
"Good, then I didn't wake you up!" He ran across the room and bounced onto Max's bed. "Wasn't today WEIRD? It's like a soap opera! It's crazy! It's insane! It's--HEY!" Tyson began fending off a pillow onslaught from Max. "What was that for?"  
  
"Tyson, it's 3 in the morning. GO. TO. SLEEP." The blonde turned his back to Tyson and tried to go back to sleep.  
  
"Can I sleep in here? I'm way too weirded out to sleep by myself."  
  
Max sighed. "Just so long as you're quiet."  
  
Tyson grinned and flopped onto the bed. The pair was asleep within minutes.  
  
***  
  
Kenny was clicking away on his laptop. "Chief, It's late," Dizzi complained, "Why can't this wait until tomorrow?"  
  
"Because I want to know now," Kenny said firmly.  
  
"Sorry, not a good enough reason! I'm shutting down now!" Abruptly, Dizzi clicked off.  
  
"Dizzi!" Kenny push the power button a few times, but to no avail. "Fine, I'll go to sleep! Geez." The teen stretched, stood up, and made his way to his bed. He was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow.  
  
And so, the house slept, unaware of the trials they would face in only a few short hours.  
  
TBC  
  
It's kinda short, and random, and weird. There's finally a plot in the next chapter, so beware! *insert evil laugh here*  
  
I've got problems...  
  
Review, please! 


	5. Chapter Four: Problems

The Chosen  
  
Chapter Four: Problems  
  
Author: Kameko-chan  
  
Warnings: Yaoi  
  
Pairings: Kai/Ray, Tala/OC, hints of Max/Tyson  
  
Notes: Must... add... humor! Be afraid, be very afraid...  
  
Decided to just hint at Max/Tyson, so you can ignore them if you don't like the pairing, and I don't have to deal with yet another relationship. Everybody wins!  
  
Why a chunk of Kenny-ness in the beginning?  
  
...  
  
Well, why not?  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
A clap of thunder awoke Kenny at about 6 in the morning. He looked out his window at the steel gray sky and pouring rain. "Well," he said, "that's kind of ominous." Looking at his clock and deciding that five hours of sleep was more than adequate, he grabbed Dizzi and padded out into the kitchen. After making himself some instant coffee (French Vanilla flavored, naturally), he turned on his laptop.  
  
The trapped bitbeast yawned. "Morning, Chief."  
  
Kenny scowled at the screen. "What was the big idea, turning yourself off? I had research to do!"  
  
Had she any eyes, Dizzi would have rolled them. "Excuse me for making sure that you didn't fall asleep in your coffee again."  
  
"That was only ONE TIME." Kenny pulled up the websites he'd been looking at the night before. "Can I get back to searching now, mother?" he asked sarcastically.  
  
"No need," Dizzi replied, deciding to ignore the teen's sarcasm. "I was running searches last night while you were sleeping." She opened up a few windows. "I managed to hack into the BioVolt mainframe. Apparently, they didn't have a chance to delete their files."  
  
Kenny stared at the files, knowing his bitbeast had hit pay dirt. "Dizzi," he said, "If you were human and not trapped in my laptop, I'd kiss you."  
  
"I'll take that as a thank you."  
  
***  
  
Ray awoke to the sight of Kai sleeping in the chair beside his bed, snoring softly. 'Ah,' Ray thought to himself, gazing at the other boy, 'the few minutes before I remember why Kai is sleeping in my room.'  
  
Kai's eyes fluttered open. He looked at the dark-haired teen and felt himself blush under the other's intense gaze. //Morning. Did you sleep well?//  
  
Ray sighed. Now he remembered why Kai was in his room. //Yes, thanks for staying with me.// He grinned. //Did you know that you snore?//  
  
Kai's slight blush deepened. //I do not!//  
  
//Do too!//  
  
//Do not!//  
  
//Do too!//  
  
"Very mature, boys."  
  
Kai spun the chair around and glared at the figure in the door. "Don't DO that!" he said irritably, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"  
  
Elaina leaned on the doorframe. "Terribly sorry," she said innocently. "I just wanted to know if you told Ray yet."  
  
Kai glared at his sister.  
  
Ray looked at the two, puzzled. "Told me what?"  
  
Kai's face attained a new shade of red. "Nothing. It's absolutely nothing. Nothing at all."  
  
Ray sat up and looked at Kai. "You can tell me anything," he said seriously. "You know that, right?"  
  
Kai nodded. "I know. It's just... I..."  
  
"Guys!!" a brown haired blur burst into the room. "We've got a major problem!"  
  
Ray glared at the Chief. "Have you ever heard of knocking, Kenny?"  
  
Kenny ignored the other boy. "Meet me in the living room, I need to go get the others!" he said, bolting out of the room and very nearly knocking over Elaina in the process.  
  
The three looked at the door in amazement. Then they looked at each other, shrugged, and headed for the living room.  
  
Tala was already there, so Elaina bounced into his lap while Ray and Kai settled themselves on the couch. Soon, Kenny ran back into the room, followed by Max and a very groggy Tyson.  
  
"Morning, guys," Tyson said sleepily, sitting himself on the floor. "What's that on your neck, Elaina?"  
  
Elaina's eyes opened wide and she clamped a hand on her neck. "Nothing. It's nothing, nothing at all."  
  
Ray snickered at the all-too-familiar dialogue.  
  
Max yawned and leaned against Tyson. "It's a hickey, Tyson. And it's on the other side of your neck, Elaina."  
  
"AHEM!"  
  
The snickers ceased as everyone turned their attention to a very P.O.-ed looking Kenny, who was standing at the front of the room and tapping his foot. "Now that I've got your attention," he said, "we've got some problems."  
  
"Other than Tyson?" Max quipped. Tyson punched him playfully on the arm.  
  
"Now's not the time for jokes, Max." Kenny began pacing. "Dizzi was doing some hacking last night, and managed to get into the BioVolt mainframe. After a bit of poking around, I found something labeled 'Fire and Water'."  
  
"Those were our nicknames," Kai interrupted.  
  
Kenny rolled his eyes. "I kinda figured. Anyways, it turns out that BioVolt knew a lot more about the Chosen than what they told you."  
  
Elaina raised an eyebrow. "Like?"  
  
"Like how according to some sort of ancient document, if all of you aren't at some shrine on a certain date, the world will be plunged into chaos."  
  
The room was silent.  
  
Kenny cleared his throat. "So," he said, "I think that finding all of the Chosen as soon as possible would be a pretty good idea. Logically, we should start by finding Hannah, so I suggest..."  
  
Ray held out a hand. "Hold on, Chief. Let's get this straight. You want to go rescue my comatose sister from my old village, then find another six people who could be anywhere in the world, THEN go to a place that we don't know the location of, on a date we also don't know, to stop some sort of horrible event that may or may not happen."  
  
Kenny nodded. "Pretty much."  
  
Ray grinned. "Sounds like fun."  
  
***  
  
A few miles away, a familiar figure flicked off the screen in front of him. "Finally," he said, smiling and leaning back in his chair, "all my careful planning is coming to fruition." He stood up and plucked a familiar bowler hat from a hook on the wall. "I'd better get going. After getting them this far, I can't afford to have anything go wrong now." He picked up the phone and dialed.  
  
"Hello, Japan Air, how may I help you?"  
  
"My name is Mr. Dickenson. I'd like to reserve a seat on the next flight to China..."  
  
TBC  
  
--------------------------  
  
Oooo, now what could Mr. Dickenson possibly have to do with the Chosen? In all honesty, even I'm not 100% sure yet!  
  
Oh, does anyone know if the name of Ray's village is ever mentioned, and if so, what it is? I don't think it's ever said, but I don't want to go making up a name for it when it already has one.  
  
Comments always welcome!  
  
Oh, and the hickey thing? Happened to my cousin. Very, very funny. 


	6. Chapter Five: Betrayal

The Chosen  
  
Chapter Five: Betrayal  
  
Author: Kameko-chan  
  
Warnings: Yaoi  
  
Pairings: Kai/Ray, Tala/OC, hints of Max/Tyson  
  
Notes: I know that a few pieces may seem kind of pointless, but I promise that they have a purpose! Really!  
  
// // thought-speak { } half-conscious... stuff... you'll get it when you see them  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
Ray could feel his recently consumed airline lunch churning in his stomach as their rented truck bumped along the dirt road, though whether this was caused by the thought of seeing the village again, the food itself, or the fact that he was crammed beside Kai, he wasn't sure. 'Probably that last one,' he thought to himself. His face reddened slightly, then went pale as Max turned sharply around a corner and hit a few more bumps. 'Or maybe not...'  
  
Luckily, the group soon arrived at Ray's old village without any chirping of chips, upchucking, woofing of cookies, or puking. An old man hobbled out to their truck to greet them.  
  
"Ray!" he said, smiling giving Ray a hug. "I did not expect you to get here so quickly!"  
  
Ray grinned. "You can thank Max's reckless driving for that."  
  
Max flashed a 'V' sign. "Max's chauffer service," he said, winking, "Driving with complete disregard for other people's safety for a year and a half!"  
  
The elder laughed. "Pleased to meet you Max, and the rest of you as well." He gestured to the village. "Come, let me show you around!"  
  
"Actually, Ojisan," Ray interrupted, "I wanted to talk with you."  
  
The old man's smile seemed to flicker for a moment, but was back so soon that Ray was sure he'd imagined it. "Of course, Ray. I'm sure your friends can wait for 'the grand tour'." He pointed to a nearby building. "We can talk there."  
  
Elaina thought for a moment, then pushed Kai towards Ray. "Why don't you go with him, Kai? For, um, moral support." She began leading the others in the opposite direction. "Me and the boys will go explore the village. Bye!"  
  
"Wha--?" Kai stood there blinking for a few moments, which gave Elaina all the time she needed to get away from the Evil Glare O' Doom. He turned around and shrugged at Ray. //She's a little bit insane.//  
  
Ray smiled. //I noticed.//  
  
//I thought she was a very nice girl.//  
  
Kai and Ray both spun around stared at the elder in shock. "You..." Kai began.  
  
"Yes, Mr Hiwatari, I'm capable of speaking with thoughts rather than words. It is not limited only to your kind." The cheerful smile was gone, the old one's face was cold and emotionless. "Come along now," he said, walking to the empty council building, "we have much to discuss."  
  
Hesitantly, Kai placed a hand on Ray's shoulder and steered the shocked teen towards the building the elder had disappeared into.  
  
***  
  
"Wow!" Tyson said, wandering around the market. "Look at all the cool stuff here! Look at all the neat food!"  
  
"The village is a lot bigger then I imagined," Max said, looking at the long row of stalls lining the street. "I always thought of it as one of those dinky little places with about ten little huts and everyone gathered around a bonfire."  
  
"Most people make that assumption," one of the shopkeepers said. "We're actually a pretty thriving village, especially after all the publicity the White Tigers gave us."  
  
"Don't forget Ray!" another called out.  
  
"Ah, yes, Ray as well," the shopkeeper agreed. "Thanks to the tourists they brought in, the town's doing better than ever."  
  
Kenny nodded. "I was reading about that, your economy has improved vastly over the past three years."  
  
Kenny soon launched into a vast discussion with the random shopkeeper about politics and economy and boring stuff like that. Tyson stared the two for a few minutes, then spotted a shop with a sale on ramen and practically dragged poor Max with him to the stall. Elaina and Tala had already snuck off to... well, 'have some privacy'. And we'll leave it at that.  
  
***  
  
The old man gestured to the two chairs across from him. "Take a seat."  
  
"I think we'll stand," Ray said coolly.  
  
"Suit yourself." He folded his arms. "What did you wish to speak to me about?"  
  
"I think you know."  
  
"Run it by me anyway."  
  
Ray clenched his hands into fists. "I'm here for Hannah. I'm taking her back with me."  
  
The old one shook his head. "I'm afraid that's not possible."  
  
Ray banged his fist on the table. "Why not?!"  
  
The elder sighed and rubbed his forehead. "She not a threat to anyone right now. She's safe, and everyone in the village is safe from her. I can't take the risk of you ruining that."  
  
"What do you mean, 'ruining'? She's a vegetable, she--" Ray paused, anger and understanding flickering in his eyes. "You did that to her, didn't you? You made her that way!"  
  
"She was breaking the blocks, Ray. I had no choice."  
  
Ray was quaking with anger, amber eyes filled with hatred and disgust. "You sick, twisted son of a bitch." His voice shook with emotion. "Locking her up in the first place was bad enough, but this..."  
  
//RAY!//  
  
Ray turned ask the other teen why he'd interrupted him when he was hit over the head with something very, VERY solid. He caught a glimpse of Kai being beaten by a group of thugs and heard a faint "Sorry, young one," before he passed out.  
  
***  
  
{"Where are the rest of them?"  
  
"They've split up, apparently."  
  
"Good, there'll be less resistance this way..."}  
  
{"Let me go!!"  
  
"Get your hands off of him!"  
  
A slap. The sound of a body hitting the floor.  
  
"Max!"}  
  
{A thud. "That's the last of them."  
  
"What's Ojiisan going to do with them?"  
  
"Don't know. Just said they were a threat that needed to be dealt with."  
  
"Whatever. I get paid whether they live or not."  
  
"I hear ya..."}  
  
***  
  
"Ow." Ray awoke to a major headache. Touching the aching spot in the back of his head, he found dried blood encrusted in his hair and a lump the size of an egg. "Fuck," he swore softly, pulling himself into a sitting position and surveying the room.  
  
He was in a cell, or some sort of a holding chamber, at any rate. It was dark, and there were no windows, which suggested that the room was underground. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Ray was able to make out the forms of his friends. Max was bandaging a wound on Tyson's arm, which looked at though it had been slashed with a knife. Elaina was stroking Tala's hair while he slept in her lap, and Kai was talking with...  
  
Ray's eyes widened. "Hannah?!"  
  
TBC  
  
-------------------------------------------  
  
Did you like the crazy half-conscious scene there? ^_^;; What can I say, I was bored.  
  
Review, review, review!  
  
Oh, and I haven't decided whether or not Dickenson should be good or evil... I've thought of both scenarios, and I just can't decide! So, if you've got any input on that, please let me know! 


	7. Chapter Six: Escape

The Chosen  
  
Chapter Six: Escape  
  
Author: Kameko-chan  
  
Warnings: Yaoi. Swearing.  
  
Pairings: Kai/Ray, Tala/OC, hints of Max/Tyson  
  
Notes: I really like Hannah. Her character just popped up out of nowhere, and I absolutely adore it.  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
Kai turned to look at Ray. "Oh good, you're awake."  
  
Ray's mouth hung open as he stared at the ebony-haired girl sitting next to Kai. "What the HELL???!! Hannah, what are you doing here? And why are you... well, awake? And not all vegetative and such?"  
  
Tyson blinked. "Oh, she's that Hannah?"  
  
Hannah stood up and brushed the dirt off of her black kimono. She then strode calmly across the dark room to where Tyson was sitting, and leaned ever so slowly towards him, long strands of black hair brushing across her face... and swiftly smacked him across the head. "Of COURSE I'm that Hannah, dumbass," she said, shooting the slightly younger teen a glare.  
  
"OW!!!" Tyson rubbed his head and glared. "I was just asking!"  
  
Max snickered. "Are you sure you guys didn't get your siblings mixed up?" he asked through fits of giggles.  
  
Kai raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said she was sweet?"  
  
Hannah switched her death glare over to Kai. "You try living in this pit for six years, and see if you can keep your fucking sunny disposition."  
  
"Good point."  
  
"You still didn't answer my question." Ray crossed his arms, trying not to sway as another wave of dizziness passed over him. "Why aren't you insane or whatever?"  
  
"Because I was faking, duh, Ray." Hannah's lavender eyes shifted to the door. "Think you can open that?"  
  
"How can you FAKE being comatose?"  
  
"I just had all my thoughts on a level too high for those idiots to sense." She looked at Kai. "You want to give me a hand, tattoo boy? All my magic seems to do is petrify this damn wood, I can't make it rot." //Oh,// she sent privately, //and please keep all fantasies of my brother naked and kneeling in front of you to yourself. I do NOT need those mental images, thank-you-very-much.//  
  
Kai's eyes widened, and his breath caught in his throat. //Wha... how... huh??!!// 'Great,' Kai thought, 'I can't even send coherently...'  
  
Ray looked at him, worry playing over his features. "You okay, Kai?"  
  
Kai blushed furiously, the images that Hannah had caught him fantasizing about still fresh in his mind. "I'm fine," he muttered, averting his eyes. He stood up and walked over to the door that Hannah was standing by and raised is hand to it, getting ready to make the wood burst into flames.  
  
"Wait!!" Elaina scrambled up from her spot on the floor, forgetting about Tala's head resting in her lap and sending the redhead crashing to the floor. "Sorry, Tala!" she called over her shoulder as she skidded to a stop in front of the aforementioned door. She rolled up the sleeves of her oversized trench coat and held her own hand to the door.  
  
An eerie, glowing stream of ethereal water burst from Elaina's fingertips, washing over the door and seeping into the wood. The door flashed a brilliant shade of white for a moment, and then went dull again. "There was a reflection curse on the door," she explained to her confused onlookers. "Unless you wanted the fire to rebound and toast us all like marshmallows, I thought I should probably wash it away."  
  
Hannah stared at the lavender-haired girl in disbelief. "You can see charms and such? AND get rid of them?"  
  
"I can get rid of simple ones, yes."  
  
"Damn, you sure come in handy." Hannah turned back to Kai. "Well, work your magic, tattoo boy."  
  
Kai frowned slightly at the irritating nickname. He raised his hand to the door once more, his fingertips beginning to glow faintly red-  
  
"Wait!!"  
  
Kai fisted his hand and turned to the owner of the voice. "What is it, Max?" he asked, trying to keep the hard edge out of his voice.  
  
The blonde tilted his head to the side. "Don't you think that we should figure out what we're going to do once you burn the door down? Do we blaze out of here, destroying all in our path? Or perhaps sneak out all ninja- style? And we should probably give a thought to where Kenny might be." The blue-eyed boy shrugged. "Just a suggestion."  
  
Tyson leapt up. "I say we go with plan number two!" He struck an insane pose. "Fear the SPOON NINJA!!"[1]  
  
Hannah rolled her eyes. "I've had quite enough of this crap," she said, flicking her hand at Tyson, causing the hyperactive boy to collapse on the floor.  
  
Everyone in the room stared at Hannah in disbelief. Max's eyes flashed with anger as he knelt by his friend. "What did you do to him?"  
  
"Don't worry, he's not hurt. I made all of his limbs fall asleep simultaneously. Death can do more than kill people, you know." The dark- haired girl turned to Kai. "Can we PLEASE get a move on? We'll worry about your friend once we're free, for now lets just get the hell out of here."  
  
Kai nodded, and raised his hand to the door for the third time. Uninterrupted, the warm red glow reappeared at his fingertips. "Stand back," he warned as he pressed his hand to the door. Instantly, the whole frame was wreathed in bright red flames, hotter than any earthly fire could possibly be. The tiny room felt like an oven.  
  
'If it's this hot over here,' Ray thought, beginning to panic, 'what about...' //KAI!!//  
  
//I'm fine, Ray. Don't worry.//  
  
"Jesus, Kai," Tyson said, shielding his face from the intense flames, "did you have to make the fire so damn hot? I'm burning up over here!"  
  
"Talk to me when you're the one with magic powers," Kai replied, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Elaina, want to douse this?"  
  
Water flowed over flame, leaving the completely charred remains of the door. Kai kicked the blackened chunks of wood out of the way, and then peeked out into the hallway. Seeing no one throughout the long corridor, he stepped out of the room and motioned for the other six teens to follow.  
  
***  
  
An hour later, the group was horrified to discover that after wandering the seemingly endless hallways, they were back at their cell.  
  
Tyson kicked the pile of ash that once served as a door. "This is insane!" he cried. "There was only one way to go! How did we end up back here?"  
  
"Maybe there's a hidden door or something," Ray suggested. "This does seem to be a pretty secret place, I doubt the way out will be easy to find."  
  
//Very good, Raymond.//  
  
"What the..." Ray spun around, searching for the source of the voice before realizing that it was in his head. //Who are you?//  
  
//That does not matter.// Kai, Elaina and Hannah heard the stranger now as well. //Follow my instructions, I will lead you out of here.//  
  
Ray looked at Kai, who shrugged. //We don't really have much of a choice,// the blue-haired teen pointed out.  
  
Ray nodded. //Okay,// he told the voice, //we'll listen.//  
  
//Go down the corridor, I will tell you when you're approaching the first passage.// The four could feel the urgency that the stranger was projecting. //Hurry, you are running out of time!//  
  
The small group of Chosen came to an unspoken consensus and bolted down the hallway.  
  
Tyson looked at the retreating figures. He then turned to Max, who shrugged helplessly. Tyson shrugged back, Max nodded, and the two took off after the other four.  
  
Tala shook his head. "I hate it when they do that," he sighed, before running to catch up with the group.  
  
TBC  
  
-----------------------------------------------  
  
[1] My personal tribute to a late, great webcomic. RIP, DirtySocks. I'll miss you.  
  
Kameko: That went well ^_^  
  
Itazura: There was swearing. And violence to Tyson. I was appeased.  
  
Kameko: o_O;; And you would be...  
  
Itazura: Your yami, dumbass.  
  
Kameko: I have a yami named dumbass?  
  
Itazura: .;;; My name is Itazura!  
  
Kameko: Then why'd you call yourself dumbass?  
  
Itazura: I didn't, I called YOU-oh, nevermind! Review the stupid fic, or I will send you all to the Shadow Realm! *stalks away*  
  
Kameko: *evil grin* And she thinks she's the yami... anyways, like she said, review! She's not joking, she WILL send you to the Shadow realm if you don't.  
  
Itazura: Damn right!  
  
Kameko: ^_^;; 


	8. Chapter Seven: Many Meetings

The Chosen  
  
Chapter Seven: Many Meetings  
  
Author: Kameko-chan  
  
Warnings: Yaoi. Swearing.  
  
Pairings: Kai/Ray, Tala/OC, hints of Max/Tyson  
  
Notes: Look! I'm alive! Aliiiiiiiiiive!! Sorry it's been so long, but I had a serious case of writer's block and lack of confidence... which I still have, since I still think that this story is garbage -_-;; But thanks to so many kind reviews, I've begun to write once again! I've even begun to like this story again, even if it IS total garbage.  
  
So, to all you reviewers and future reviewers, thank you. You guys totally rock.  
  
--------------------------------  
  
The seven teens had been following the voice's directions for over half an hour. Well, Kai, Ray, Elaina and Hannah had been following them; Tyson, Max and Tala were just desperately trying to keep up with their comrades.  
  
//Are you sure you know where you're leading us?// Kai questioned suspiciously.  
  
//Of course I am sure,// the unidentified woman sent, //You will have to trust me, you are almost free. Turn left here, and then go through the door.//  
  
The gang turned the corner. Sure enough, the twisting corridor ended abruptly at a simple wooden door. Too simple...  
  
"What if it's a trap?" Ray echoed the thought going through everyone's minds.  
  
"There's no magical traps," Elaina reassured him. "Although, if there's poison tipped arrows rigged to the door, we're screwed."  
  
Kai glared at his sister. "That isn't helping." He stepped towards the door. "You guys step back, I'll open--"  
  
"NO!" Ray grabbed Kai's arm reflexively. "I-I mean, er, no, we should find another way..." he stuttered lamely as he released Kai's arm. He blushed furiously.  
  
Kai looked at Ray, his heart racing. Crimson searched gold, wondering, barely daring to hope-  
  
"Oh, get a room, you two." Hannah pushed past the dumbstruck teens and yanked on the door's bronze handle.  
  
Have you ever seen six teenagers go from standing to flat on the floor in .64 seconds? It's quite the amusing sight, let me tell you. Surprisingly, none of them suffered severe internal injuries, or even whiplash!  
  
"Honestly, you guys are such women." Hannah shook her head, her amusement evident in her voice. "You can stand up now, nothing's going to pop out and get you."  
  
"If my intention was to kill you, you would be dead already."  
  
The group turned to look at the source of the voice that several of them had been hearing in their heads for nearly an hour. Night had fallen while they were in their cell, and the harsh glare of a pair of headlights made it so a tall, slim silhouette was all that could be made out.  
  
Tala was the first to speak. "Why are you hiding your face? Turn the light off so that we can see you!"  
  
The shadowy face turned, and Tala could feel the stranger's glare upon him. "I do not take orders from anyone, and especially not from a non-magic like you."  
  
Tala's body tensed up and he nearly launched himself at the girl in a fit of rage, but Elaina gently placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. "It's not worth it," she whispered, "ignore her."  
  
"Please," Max said hastily, hoping to avoid a nasty incident, "would you turn off the light?"  
  
"That is better," the girl said haughtily. "Joel, turn them off."  
  
"Sure thing, Adri!" A cheerful male voice with a hint of an accent-perhaps British, it was difficult to tell--sounded from somewhere a few yards away. "And you didn't have to be such a bitch about it, geez..." The light switched off.  
  
The girl standing in the doorway appeared to be about twenty years old, perhaps a little younger. Chestnut hair fell just below her shoulders, and her grey eyes seemed to glow and eerie silver in the moonlight. She was wearing a long silver robe over a simple white cotton t-shirt and white jeans-an odd ensemble indeed. Finally, a marking on her hand: four squares joined together; two black, two white, each with a circle of the opposite color in the center.  
  
"You're a Chosen," Ray said blankly.  
  
"Yes I am, Ray." She smiled at the awestruck look on his face, her cool, clear voice taking on a hint of amusement. "How do I know your name, you're wondering? The answer to that is simple--I am the Chosen of Order, and so I possess the Sight. You see," she turned around to look at the star-spotted night sky, "there is an order to all that occurs in the universe. Everything that will ever happen has been preordained, and my power allows me to glimpse future events as they are set out. Naturally," she turned back to the groups of confused teens, "seeing events that have already occurred is a cakewalk."  
  
"Adri," the male voice called out again, "Can you save the 'holier-than- thou' speech for another time? There's people swarming all over the place, and sooner or later they're going to remember that there's a door here."  
  
Adri sighed. "I told you Joel, we won't get caught."  
  
"I'd rather not tempt Fate, thanks." The owner of the voice--a brown- haired, hazel-eyed boy in his late teens--appeared next to Adri. "Come on, guys, to the jeep!" he said, motioning for the others to follow him.  
  
Not really having an alternative, the group followed Joel to the jeep. He shouted a quick "Hold on!" before burning rubber out of the village, nearly sending the vehicle's occupants hurtling out of it.  
  
"Why are we going so fast?" Ray shouted over the roar of the engine. "Someone's going to notice us if we go tearing up the streets!"  
  
"We'll be long gone by the time anyone even looks!" Joel shouted back, a huge grin plastered on his face. "Come on, where's your sense of adventure?"  
  
"I've had more than enough adventure to last me a lifetime, thanks," Ray muttered, trying to stay in his seat as they went over a particularly large bump.  
  
They tore through the main street of the village, and then turned sharply down a side street. Ray kept looking nervously at the doors and windows of the houses they passed, surprised to see that they were all deserted. //This is weird... where is everyone? We're making enough noise to wake the dead!//  
  
//Don't worry, they've all gone to see the execution,// Joel sent offhandedly.  
  
//WHAT?//  
  
"We're here!" Joel said, deciding not to elaborate on the subject until everyone was in the safehouse. "Hurry up, everyone's going to be back soon."  
  
"What did you mean, 'execution'?"  
  
Joel sighed. "I'll tell you about it later, right now there's some people you need to meet." He rummaged in his pocket and drew out a ring of keys. "Now, let's see... ah, this one!" He selected a tiny, silver key and turned it in the lock, then pushed open the door. "Oi, we're back! And we brought company!"  
  
"You found them, then?" An all-to-familiar voice floated down the hallway. "Excellent work, Joel!"  
  
The Bladebreakers' (minus Kenny, who was still MIA) mouths hung open as the man in the bowler hat that they all knew and loved appeared at the top of the stairs.  
  
"Mr Dickenson?"  
  
TBC  
  
----------------------------------  
  
Kameko: So, is it total garbage? I think so, but it doesn't really matter what I think, does it?  
  
In the next chapter, I'm hoping to reveal some dark secrets about some of the characters, thanks to Adri's powers and totally bitchy attitude. Hee!  
  
I'm loving this fic again.  
  
Itazura: That's just peachy.  
  
Kameko: Why the hell do you keep showing up for no reason?  
  
Itazura: Because I can.  
  
Kameko: *rolls eyes* 


	9. Chapter Eight: Secrets Revealed

The Chosen  
  
Chapter Eight: Secrets Revealed  
  
Author: Kameko-chan  
  
Warnings: Yaoi. Swearing.  
  
Pairings: Kai/Ray, Tala/OC, hints of Max/Tyson  
  
Notes: *mad snuggles to all my reviewers* We've hit 50 reviews! I never dreamed I'd get so many! You guys totally make this all worthwhile, thank you so much!  
  
At any rate, I've just realized that I'm writing a Beyblade fic with—well, no Beyblading in it! *thinks* I must find a way to fit that in... it just doesn't seem right without it...  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
Mr Dickenson smiled at the confused looks he was getting. "How are you doing, boys? And ladies," he added hastily, seeing the glare Hannah shot at him. "Having fun?"  
  
"What in the HELL are you doing here??"  
  
Mr Dickenson's smile faltered for a moment. "Always to the point, aren't you, Mr Hiwatari?" He shrugged his shoulders. "I'll tell you, but I thought maybe you'd like to know of more pressing matters first. Like the whereabouts of young Kenny, or that nasty execution Joel mentioned."  
  
"How did you--?" Ray's eyes widened, his train of thought switching directions. "Wait... God... they're not... it's not... not KENNY?"  
  
Dickenson's eyes sparkled with amusement. "No, Mr Kon. Kenny is quite safe, actually. Joel and Adrianna picked him up from the market some hours ago. He was given a mild sedative to keep him quiet, he's sleeping." Dickenson casually pointed at the hallway he'd appeared from. "Third door on the left, if you want to visit him later."  
  
Ray sighed in relief. "Thank God. Then who's being executed?"  
  
"You."  
  
Ray stared at Dickenson in shocked disbelief. "Me??"  
  
"Well, all of you." A wistful smile played across Dickenson's face, apparently oblivious to Ray's look of complete shock. "How I would have loved to see their faces when they discovered that you weren't there."  
  
**********  
  
"How COULD he?" Ray's fist connected with his pillow, feathers flying everywhere and then settling on the bed like snow. "He was like a grandfather to me! I trusted him! How could he betray me like this?"  
  
Kai looked up from his book at the enraged teen he was sharing a room with. Dickenson had ushered them off, saying that he'd explain things in the morning—which Kai was getting a bit sick of. However, seeing Ray's reaction to the information they'd just received, he grudgingly admitted that Dickenson had been right in calling it a night. Emotions rolled off Ray in waves: sadness, hurt, betrayal, anger. The intensity nearly made Kai fall off his bed.   
  
'Don't react,' Kai told himself, 'Whatever you do, you must remain impartial. You can't risk him finding out about how you feel and being disgusted by it.'  
  
Helpless, Kai watched as Ray finally exhausted himself and slumped against the pillow he had been mercilessly punching. Tears gathered at the corners of the cat-like teen's eyes. "How?" Ray's voice was soft, filled with a sadness beyond comprehension. "How could he be so heartless?"  
  
Seeing Ray's spirit break like that was more than Kai could bear. Not caring about the possible consequences, he crossed the gap between their two beds and gathered the weeping teen into his arms. Ray didn't react, he just continued to sob uncontrollably.   
  
Holding the other boy close, Kai rubbed his back in what he hoped was a soothing manner, all the while sending comforting thoughts through their mind link. Ray buried his face into Kai's shoulder, tears continuing to flow freely as he let loose not only the pain of this encounter, but all the sadness and heartache he had suffered through in his short life. He clung to Kai for dear life, as though letting go would cause him to drown in the salty sea of his tears.  
  
When no more tears could be shed, Ray looked up at Kai. He stared at the other boys face for a long moment.  
  
"I didn't know you wore glasses, Kai."  
  
"Ah, I need them for reading."  
  
Ray smiled and pushed the square, gold-rimmed frames back up Kai's nose. "They're cute." Exhausted, he then rested his head on Kai's chest and closed his eyes. He was soon breathing the soft, even breaths of slumber.  
  
When he was certain the other teen was asleep, Kai kissed him softly on the top of his head. "Sweet dreams, Ray. You could use them."  
  
And the pair slumbered, wrapped in each other's arms.  
  
************  
  
Tala grinned and closed the door on the sleeping pair. "Looks like Elaina's plan has finally worked! Wait 'til I tell her the good news." Still smiling, the ruby-haired teen strolled down the hallway towards the room that he and Elaina were sharing. When he turned the corner, however, the smile disappeared. "Oh. Hello, Adri."  
  
The grey-eyed girl scowled. "You may address me as Adrianna, non-magic."  
  
Tala clenched his fists, pale blue eyes like chips of ice. "I have a name as well, Adrianna," he said tersely. "It's Tala."  
  
Adri tossed back her chestnut locks. "I know your name, non-magic, I just don't think you're worth the effort." An instant later, Adri found herself pinned against the wall, Tala's hand at her throat. 'How could he move so fast?' she wondered, eyes wide and staring at Tala in disbelief.  
  
"Why do you hate me so?" Icy fingers tightened around the creamy throat. "Tell me! Is it because I have no magic? Because I'm 'lower' than you? Answer me!"  
  
Adri struggled to draw breath. "W-w-why, you ask?" Her voice was small, hoarse, but her eyes held all the fire her voice could not convey. "Because when I look into your eyes, I see the eyes of a killer. I see the blood staining your soul. And I can hear their screams." Her mouth twitched, she looked vaguely amused. "You know the ones I'm talking about, don't you? Every night, you hear their screams while you fall asleep; they are your sick, twisted lullaby. And every night, your dreams are stained with their blood, filled with their crying, pleading faces."  
  
Tala released Adri and backed away, slumping against the opposite wall. "No... you couldn't know... it... it wasn't my FAULT!!" The teen clutched at the sides of his head and sank to the floor. "Please... stop..."  
  
But Adri wasn't about to show mercy. "Wasn't your fault? BioVolt wasn't controlling you! You still had your own free will! Don't lie to me, non-magic, I can see right through it." Her eyes narrowed as she leaned in closer. "You looked right in your mother's eyes," she said in a deadly whisper, "and you made the choice. You sold your soul for a spot in BioVolt." Adri stood and shot Tala an icy glare. "That, Tala, is why I hate you. Because your horribly stained soul sickens me. Now, if you'll excuse me..." With that, Adri turned her back to Tala and proceeded down the hallway, her white robe billowing slightly behind her, once again the picture of perfect calm and indifference. And left behind was a broken soul, whose half-healed wounds had been torn anew.   
  
Tala stared at the floor and saw that night, saw his hands stained with their blood, saw his family's lifeless eyes staring up at his again. All of them asking, 'Why?'  
  
He had no answers for them. All he had was his tears.  
  
TBC  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
Kameko: Well, that got kind of dark at the end, didn't it?  
  
Itazura: I liked it.  
  
Kameko: You would. *ahem* Anyways, I'm glad that I could FINALLY write a Ray/Kai scene. Now that I've gotten it out into the open a bit more, expect more of that! Oh, and I've finally decided how the fic's gonna end! It probably won't be for awhile yet, but I've got something to work towards finally. While making it up as I go is fun, it's kind of nice to know that it won't just go on forever and that there IS and end to it somewhere—  
  
Itazura: Unlike your constant chatter.  
  
Kameko: Quiet, you. 


	10. Chapter Nine: Mutual Feelings

The Chosen  
  
Chapter Nine: Mutual Feelings  
  
Author: Kameko-chan  
  
Warnings: Yaoi. Swearing.  
  
Pairings: Kai/Ray, Tala/OC, hints of Max/Tyson  
  
Notes: Uh, hi guys, it's been awhile... Sorry I've taken so long to get this chapter out!! I made it a bit longer, with some Kai/Ray goodness. Not a whole lot in the place of plot advancement, it's rather a lot of fluff. However, it ties up some bothersome loose ends so I can get the plot moving a bit more quickly.  
  
//...// = thought-speak  
  
~~~~~ = flashback  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
Kenny awoke to a throbbing headache and a rather hazy memory of the previous day's events. Also, he noticed rather quickly that he was in a bed, in a sparsely decorated room, presumably in a house or other building. One would think that this would be a normal thing to see upon waking, if it weren't for the fact that he had NO idea how he'd gotten there.  
  
"Let's see," Kenny said aloud to himself, inner monologue not being quite up to snuff due to the pounding in his brain. "I remember having an involved discussion about economics with that shopkeeper, and then those two weird people showed up... then nothing." He wrinkled his nose. "There MUST be an explanation."  
  
"You were drugged, silly," a familiar digitized voice stated. "It must have been pretty heavily, too, you've been sleeping for hours."  
  
Kenny finally noticed his laptop sitting on the bedside table. "Dizzi!!!" He glomped the precious machine. "Are you okay? Do you know where we are?"  
  
"In a room, presumably in a house or other..."  
  
Kenny rolled his eyes. "I got that, can you be a little more specific?"  
  
"Well, the two weirdos who drugged you are working for Mr Dickenson."  
  
"Oh, good." Kenny sighed in relief. "We're safe, then."  
  
"Exactly. I think."  
  
"You THINK?" Kenny frowned and closed the laptop. "Really encouraging, Dizzi."  
  
***  
  
When Kenny's head had finally cleared enough to allow him to stand, he made his way into the hall. Hearing a high-pitched giggle that could only belong to Max, he headed towards what he soon discovered to be the kitchen. Greeting the scene before him, he wondered if perhaps it would have been better to stay in bed.  
  
It appeared that Max's laughter had been caused by Tyson, who was tickling him with a fern that had apparently been snitched from the vase on the table. He was staring at Max intently, a look of utmost concentration on his face. Joel (who's name Kenny did not yet know) was watching the spectacle with obvious amusement. Across the table from those three were Ray and Kai, who were sitting a great deal closer together than they normally did. Both were blushing furiously and staring decidedly at their plates. Behind them, Elaina was pacing nervously back and forth across the small room. Every few moments she'd glance at the door, then mutter things under her breath.  
  
Maybe it was the after-effects of the drugs, or maybe it was the result of living with Tyson. Either way, rather than turning around and marching back to his room like a sane person, he simply walked up to the coffee pot on the counter and poured himself a cup. Then he took a seat between Adri and Hannah, as they seemed the only normal people in the room at that moment, grabbed the newspaper (or what was left of it; Max and Tyson had been attempting to make paper hats earlier) and proceeded to read.  
  
The room was silent for a few minutes, until—  
  
"KENNY!!!!!" Kenny found himself being glomped by both Tyson and Max.  
  
"Are you okay, Chief?" Tyson asked.  
  
"Other than a headache," Kenny said, flushing slightly in embarrassment at being glomped. "Nothing a cup of coffee won't fix, I'm sure."  
  
"Oh yeah, sorry about the drugging and all!" Joel called out cheerfully from his seat at the table. "Had to keep you quiet somehow, you were being kind of loud. Hard to be stealthy with someone screeching 'rape!' at the top of their lungs."  
  
Tyson raised an eyebrow. "Rape?"  
  
Kenny shrugged. "First thing that came to mind."  
  
"Fair enough."  
  
Tyson then took the liberty of introducing Kenny to Joel and Adri, then getting caught up in the moment proceeded to introduce everyone to everyone else, ending with him introducing himself to... himself.  
  
Tyson is a bit strange. We've established this.  
  
At any rate, Kenny took a look around the room, and noticed that something was missing. Something important.  
  
Ah. There was a distinct lack of red hair.  
  
"Guys, where'd Tala go?"  
  
Max looked around. "That's a very good question."  
  
"We need to thin out our numbers," Tyson said sagely, "it's getting hard to keep track of people."  
  
Kenny turned to Elaina. "Why didn't you say anything?"  
  
Elaina glared. "What did you THINK I was so pissed off about??"  
  
"Uhhh..."  
  
"Speaking of missing people," Joel piped in, hoping to avoid a bitchy female explosion (he knew far too well what those were like), "where did Ray and Kai wander off to?"  
  
The remaining group cast a glance at the now empty chairs where Ray and Kai had been only a few moments before.  
  
"They've gone to screw each other silly," Hannah said absently. Looking up with a smirk at the room of astonished faces, she added "Or perhaps they just wanted to escape this nuthouse. Either way, is it any of our fucking business?" Lavender eyes glared defiantly. "I don't think so. They're big boys, they can take care of themselves. Tala too," she cast a look in Elaina's direction. "Now shut the fuck up, I've got a lot of catching up to do—the world's changed a bit since I was locked away in that pit." And with that, she pulled out a laptop (where she got it from is a mystery—probably nicked it earlier that morning) and started browsing.  
  
Everyone went back to their previous activities.  
  
"Ty-SONNNN!!!" Giggle, giggle. "Stop with the tickling already!!"  
  
***  
  
Kai's mouth felt wonderfully warm. All of him felt deliciously warm, actually, but his mouth especially. This was strange, as it was a rather cold day out in the mountain village.  
  
At least, it would've been strange, had it not been for the fact that Kai currently had Ray pressed against a tree and was proceeding to ravage the younger teen's mouth. Both boys, however, being slightly dazed by the events, were barely able to process the fact that the object of their affections reciprocated, and was now kissing/being kissed by them. Which is really a shame, since I'm sure the experience would've been all the more heightened had their brains been able to handle that bit of info.  
  
Although, judging by the way Ray was gripping the back of Kai's shirt and moaning into his mouth, and how Kai had Ray's hair clenched so tight in his hands it was surprising that he didn't rip it out, perhaps the sensation was more than enough to deal with at that moment.  
  
Ah, I bet you're all wondering how this delightful little scene came about? After all, last you saw, they were all snuggled together in a rather platonic way. Let's take a stroll to earlier that morning, hm?  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Ray woke, at first not quite realizing where he was. After the usual morning brain-fog had cleared, he remembered his breakdown the previous night. Nervously, he looked at the still-sleeping boy holding him. Kai was smiling slightly, he looked as though he was having a good dream. Ray blushed as he shifted slightly and felt something hard press against his side. A VERY good dream, if that was any indication.  
  
Ray heard Kai say something. 'He talks in his sleep,' he thought, smiling. 'Cute.' He leaned in closer to hear what the other boy was saying...   
  
"Ray..." escaped the youth's pale lips, barely a whisper.  
  
Ray's eyes went wide. He couldn't... could he?   
  
How could he be sure?  
  
An idea striking him, Ray probed the mind link between them. //Kai? It's Ray, I've got a question... do you love me?//  
  
//'Course I love you, silly boy,// Kai sent back, apparently still caught in his dream and showing no signs of waking.  
  
//Do you love me like a friend, or do you love me like a lover?//  
  
Kai's grin got wider, but his eyes remained closed. //Both.//  
  
Ray blushed, hardly believing what he was hearing... er, sensing... whatever. He smiled mischievously. //Do you think I'm sexy?//  
  
Kai opened his eyes and grinned seductively at Ray. "Beyond sexy, actually."  
  
Ray let out a small 'eep' of surprise as Kai leaned up and gave him a kiss. When Kai's mouth left his, Ray smiled like a loon and wrapped his arms around Kai. "Oh. Well, the feeling's mutual."  
  
Kai smiled again. His closest friend, the boy he'd been in love with for years, loved him back. What a wonderful feeling.  
  
And so, they proceeded to make out like mad until they were called for breakfast.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Now, in the midst of the post-breakfast make out fest I was describing earlier, Ray heard a noise a bit further off into the woods. //Kai,// he sent, mouth being a little pre-occupied at the moment, //do you hear that?//  
  
Reluctantly, Kai pulled away and listened. He could hear ragged breathing, and a then a hacking cough, just behind them. Ray looked at him worriedly, golden orbs questioning him.  
  
Kai gripped Ray's hand and the two walked towards the source of the sound.  
  
In a clearing a few yards away, they found Tala kneeling on the ground, soaked to the skin, shivering and hacking up a storm, his face covered in tiny cuts. Clutched in his hand was Wolfborg.  
  
----------------------------  
  
Kameko: Whee, I finally finished another chapter!  
  
Itazura: Took you bloody long enough.  
  
Kameko: Shush, you. Now, awhile ago, someone asked about the Chosen of Order and Chaos. You see, I got the elements from a game called 'Lords of Magic'. The game has Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Death, Life, Order, and Chaos (I actually added light and dark to make it ten). It's also where I got the opposites thing from, they put a lot of stress on opposite element alignments in the game. Anyways, I really wanted to include Order and Chaos in the fic, because they've always intrigued me. I mean, when you think of elements, you'd never think of those two, would you? But they're incredibly interesting... you'd have to read up about them in the game manual to get a good idea, but trust me, they rock. That's why they're there... the quirks of the Chaos element will be revealed later (dun, dun, duuuuuun) and I think you've already got an idea of what Order is like. If you're a fan of the game, read up on Chaos and see if you can figure out what I'm going to do with Joel *evil grin*  
  
Itazura: You done?  
  
Kameko: Yep.  
  
Itazura: Good. Now get started on cleaning your room before your dad gets home.  
  
Kameko: ...damn. *waves* I must be going! Please review! And thanks once again to all those who've reviewed already ^_^ I promise not to take so long for the next chapter!  
  
Itazura: Yeah, right.  
  
Kameko: I said shush! 


	11. Chapter Ten: Descending into Madness

The Chosen  
Chapter Ten: Descending into Madness  
Author: Kameko-chan  
Warnings: Yaoi  
Pairings: Kai/Ray, Tala/OC, hints of Max/Tyson  
Notes: This fic's getting so DARK!! Where did this come from? Anyways, this chapter's pretty much devoid of humor (at least, it's SUPPOSED to be devoid of humor) and is kinda dark... and the first half's written in a bit of a different style than usual, I needed a change. The whole chapter's a bit of a change, actually, but it should be only temporary ^_^

--------------------------------

Pull, spin, slice, drip.

Tiny cuts cover his body, the fresh ones and deeper ones still ooze blood.

Pull, spin, slice, drip.

_I should have stopped them. I shouldn't have let them do it._

He picks his Beyblade off the ground. He hooks it onto the launcher, barely noticing the blood staining his hands. His hands are already so tainted with his family's blood that his own drowns in the crimson sea.

Pull.

_I wanted it so badly... And they wanted me to have it so much._

A fine spray of his blood flies off the blade, falling softly like mist to the ground and tinting the dirt red. It has already become a rich rust, he's been repeating the pattern for so long now.

Spin.

_They killed themselves so that I could have a better life. They killed themselves for me._

The glorified top hits a stone and flies back towards him. It hits him squarely in the jaw this time, coating itself in his blood once more.

Slice.

_And I didn't stop them. I am as guilty as if I'd held the knife myself, my hands just as bloodstained._

Tears mingle with the ruby liquid flowing freely from his wounds, leaving crimson stains down his cheeks. The salty trails lick the wounds on his face, making them burn, and he revels in it, embraces the sweet pain and adds to the mental tally on his soul. Perhaps, he believes, if he suffers as much pain as he inflicted, his soul would finally be free.

Drip.

_Their suffering was my fault._

He collapses to the ground, body finally spent. His breathing is labored, and his skin feels as though it's on fire. At the same time, he is soaked and shivering, the morning rainstorm still leaving its mark. He feels as though he might die and he doesn't care in the slightest.

He studies his Beyblade for a moment. It is both his doom and his salvation, both sin and penance. It is keeping him alive even as it is killing him. He's told himself this for years, forced himself to believe. But today he has found no solace in his blade, no release, no redemption. All he has found is pain, and the small comfort pain brings to him.

An eye for an eye, after all.

Hacking coughs rack his body, and darkness overtakes his vision. He falls forward, blade still clutched in one hand. He is going to die and he knows it, wants it, hungers for it.__

And then he hears them. 

He hears voices calling him, so far away it seems, so terribly, terribly faint, and so familiar. And he comes to a revelation.

_No._

Finally, he understands.

_It's them. They're keeping me alive. Not this thing. Not a spinning top. Not the thing my family killed themselves over. _

_Them._

One thought crosses his mind before the darkness can take him, breaks through the barrier he's constructed, the façade that has fooled even him, and shatters it into a thousand tiny shards.

_I don't want to die._

He slips quietly out of consciousness, and hopes against hope that he'll wake.

***

"Tala!" The boy's head flopped around like a rag doll as Kai shook his shoulders in an effort to rouse him. "Tala, please, wake up!" He shook the redhead's shoulders harder. "Tala, you bastard, wake up!" Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, but whether they were of anger or sorrow, one couldn't tell.

Kai could distantly feel Ray gently remove his hands from Tala's shoulders. He felt like he was dreaming, everything felt so unreal. How could this happen? Sure, Tala had been unstable in the past, but Kai had thought the other boy had gotten better. Especially since the re-appearance of Elaina, Tala had seemed so happy, so vibrant and alive. What could have drove him to this? What had sent him back into the depression that had threatened to consume him a few short years ago?

The haze enveloping Kai's brain cleared enough for him to notice that Ray had gone and got the others. How long had he been sitting there, staring at his half-dead friend's body? It had seemed like only seconds, and at the same time felt like forever. He'd never told him, but Tala had become like a brother to Kai, the only person he could talk to about the past, the abbey, and Boris. Their shared experiences in Russia bound them together. If Tala could go over the edge like this... Kai could do the same, just as easily. He knew, in his soul, that he already clung to the edge by a hair; only pure willpower had kept him from following Tala's dark descent into madness the last time.

Kai shuddered involuntarily, and it wasn't because of the chilly morning air.

Ray watched all this, feeling rather helpless. Tentatively, he put an arm around Kai's shoulder in a feeble effort to comfort the other boy. Kai didn't say a word, just leaned into the cat-like teen, grateful for the warmth. He watched with deadened eyes as Max and Tyson carted Tala back into the house, Elaina following close behind, Adri leaning against a tree and watching with her cool, disinterested gaze.

_Adri._

He didn't know how he knew, but he knew. And before he could stop himself, he'd stalked over to the tree and grabbed the girl by the front of her robes.

"What the FUCK did you say to him?" Kai's crimson eyes flashed bright red. Rage threatened to consume him, he could feel his control on his powers slipping, but he didn't care. All he could think about was that this... this... fucking _whore _had done something to Tala. And just as Tala had embraced his pain earlier, Kai welcomed the rage, let the powerful emotion course through is veins and do away with all restraint. A hand found it's way to Adri's slender neck, and the girl soon found herself unable to breathe, let alone speak. Her eyes widened in terror as she felt the hand at her throat grow hotter and hotter, as if it were aflame from within. Kai didn't seem to notice her arms as they flailed helplessly at her sides, and if he did, he didn't give a damn. Bloodlust sang in his ears.

A light hand touched his shoulder, and it was like cool water running through him now, calming the fire he'd let burn out of control. The world came sharply back into focus in an instant. Shocked at his sudden loss of control, he let go of the girl gasping beneath his ever-tightening grip. The calming hand now wretched him backwards, apparently not trusting his sudden change in attitude. All this happened in a few fluid seconds, each event barely registering in Kai's mind.

"Kai, what the hell were you doing?" Elaina looked at her brother, the worry in her eyes betraying the hard edge to her voice.

Kai breathed in shakily, still trying to regain control of himself. "I don't know," he managed to reply softly. "I couldn't control myself..."

"So it's begun then, has it?" And familiar voice emerged from the trees, followed by a figure that the Bladebreakers had almost forgotten. "I thought we had more time than this."

Adri glared at the green-haired boy. "About time you finally showed up, Oliver. Where's your sister?"

TBC

------------------------------

See? Dark and crazy!! It's scaring even me...

Anyways, I'm thinking of boosting the rating to R, 'cause I'm getting the feeling it could achieve that before the end. I'll keep it as is for now, since I'm terrible with ratings, but if at some point you think it's gotten into 'R' territory, let me know, okay? Wouldn't want to get banned or some such shit...

;_; I'm so mean to Tala!! *huggles Tala plushie* I'm soooorrry!!!!

*officially labels fic 'Plot bunny gone wild'*

Oh, and note to Shadow Blade Anime-addict, should you be reading this, here's what I say to your suggestion of less Ray/Kai...

Phhhhhhhhhhfffffffft!!!!!

And they're both gay. Absolute flamers. *snickers at double entendre*

And once again, thank you to all my lovely reviewers! *blows kisses*

That is all. 


	12. Chapter Eleven: The Beginning of the End

The Chosen  
  
Chapter Eleven: The Beginning of the End  
  
Author: Kameko-chan  
  
Warnings: Yaoi. Swearing.  
  
Pairings: Kai/Ray, Tala/OC, hints of Max/Tyson  
  
Notes: I know, it's been far too long. I apologize, but I haven't been too inspired as of late. Now, this chapter is, as the title suggests, the beginning of the end. I could drag it out longer, sure, but I really need to end this fic. I just don't have the energy or, more importantly, the ideas or set-up to make a deeper plot. So there will be two chapters after this one, and then an epilogue. That's it. No more.  
  
As always, thanks to the reviewers. I love you all, and if it weren't for you I'd have abandoned this fic a long, long time ago. Thank you for giving me the motivation to keep going.  
  
//...// = thought-speak  
  
[.....] = vision... stuff. You'll get it when you get there. Hopefully.  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
Ray massaged his temples as he tried to process everything the green-haired boy across the table was telling him. "Okay, let's recap. That," he pointed to a girl with short blue hair who was dragging an unconscious Kai into the house, "is your sister Katrina, aka Kat."  
  
Oliver nodded.  
  
"And you guys are Earth and Air, correct?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And those two," Ray gestured at a girl and boy who were dragging in Elaina (they were a good deal weaker than Kat), "are Luma and Demos, the Light and Dark chosen, right?"  
  
"Mm-hm."  
  
"And the reason he," now Ray pointed to Kai, "exploded at Adri is because the magic in our bodies is becoming increasingly unstable and is interfering with our emotions, making us unable to control them, yes?"  
  
"That's right."  
  
"And that's why I lost my temper and smacked their heads together, thus knocking them unconscious?"  
  
"You got it."  
  
Ray let his head drop to the tabletop. "Why me? What did I ever do to deserve this?"  
  
Oliver patted his back reassuringly. "At least you had a few years of ignorant bliss, my friend."  
  
***  
  
Kai's eyes fluttered open some hours later. The first thing he saw was Ray's face hovering over his. The younger boy looked immensely relieved. "Thank goodness you're awake, Kai," he said, a weak smile creeping onto his face. "Are you feeling okay?"  
  
The morning's events came flooding back to him. Kai's eyes went wide and he sat up in a rush. "Tala?? Where's Tala?? He's okay, isn't he? He didn't..."  
  
"I'm here, Kai, I'm fine." The redhead stepped out of the corner he'd been observing from. "I'm sorry to have frightened you, Kai."  
  
Kai's eyes smoldered with rage. He flung off his heavy comforter, stalked over to Tala, and smacked him across the face with a loud slap. "Don't ever, EVER, even THINK about doing that again, Tala." He glared at the other boy. "You have people who care about you, idiot. What would my sister have done if you'd gone and killed yourself, hm? You'd have been lucky you were dead, because I would have killed you!"  
  
Icy blue eyes lowered their gaze to the ground. "I'm truly sorry, Kai. I wasn't thinking about her, or anyone. I was just thinking about me... about what I'd done..." His shoulders began to tremble as a tear slid down his cheek. "I'm so stupid..."  
  
Kai took in his friend's injured body. The cuts were still red and inflamed, each one surrounded by angry purple bruising. Dark circles lined his eyes; Kai wondered how long he'd slept. The rage leaked out of his body like a punctured balloon. He sighed and pushed Tala towards the door. "I don't need your apologies, Tala. But there's a girl out there who does. A girl who loves you very much." Kai offered the stunned boy a small smile. "Go make things right."  
  
Tears welled up again, but this time they were tears of gratitude, rather than grief. He left without another word.  
  
Kai turned his attention back to Ray, who was waiting patiently in a chair next to his bed. Kai realized with a start that Ray must have been sitting with him the whole time.  
  
Ray barely had time to notice the weird look on Kai's face when the older teen leapt over the bed to his side, lifted him off the chair and kissed him soundly, all in one fluid motion. He then wrapped his arms around him tightly.   
  
"I love you," Kai whispered disbelievingly. "I knew I loved you, but right now, I've realized exactly how much I love you. I love you so much that I don't ever want to see you sad." He buried his face in Ray's neck. "Ever."  
  
//I won't go over the edge like Tala, because I could never put you through that pain.//  
  
Ray sobbed and buried his fingers in Kai's hair as Kai gave him access to that part of his mind. Fuck, how did he not see it? How could he have missed Kai's desperate battle for sanity? How he clung to the edge, slipped, fell, regained his grip, slowly climbing but it wasn't enough, it was never enough.  
  
"Kai... I'm so sorry..."  
  
The two stood there for a long while, each clinging to the other, neither realizing that they were saving the other even as they thought they were killing them.  
  
***  
  
"Here's the deal, guys." Oliver's normally happy, easy-going voice had taken on a serious edge, and his eyes no longer sparkled with amusement. He pulled out a tattered roll of parchment from his bag and spread it on the table so that everyone could see. "This parchment was sent to me several years ago. It is written in ancient Egyptian, and has been dated back to 2000 b.c...."  
  
"Enough with the historical babble, Olli, tell them the important stuff."  
  
Oliver glared at his sister. "Thank you for breaking the mood, Kat." He turned his attention back to the scroll. "As I was about to say, this scroll seems to be a record of what happened when the Chosen first appeared. I'd go into the poetic direct translation, but," again, he shot Kat a glare, "I've been asked to give you the condensed version.  
  
"Basically, 4000 years ago some Egyptian priests discovered a horrifying secret. The Earth, the seemingly indestructable planet, was on her last legs, it's lifeforce was going out. If it didn't recieve a renewal of energy soon, it would simply die and take all of humanity with it.   
  
"While the other priests began to panic, one of them hit upon an idea. Why didn't they make themselves the living incarnate of the different elements of the Earth? Then they could then use a ritual to increase their powers one hunredfold, and release those powers into the Earth.  
  
"While this sounds insanely complicated, the priests had no other options. They spent one full year in a terrifying, painful ritual to convert their souls to pure energy. Then they spent the next 5 years constructing a small temple in which to do the final ritual of letting that energy into the Earth."  
  
Oliver rolled up the parchment with a sigh. "That's where the text stops. The rest appears to have been burned off."  
  
Kenny sighed. "So basically, you're telling me that all we know is that there's a temple SOMEWHERE in Egypt, and we need to get to it?"  
  
"Pretty much."  
  
"But we don't even know how to do this damned ritual!" Kai exclaimed.  
  
"So you'd rather just sit here and let the Earth die?" Anger flashed in Oliver's eyes. "You don't understand, do you? I can FEEL it, the slow decay of everything around us. If we don't try to save it, the Earth will be destroyed."  
  
"But we don't even know where this temple is!" Elaina added her voice to the arguement. "We'll die out in the desert trying to find it!"  
  
"We have to try!!"  
  
Soon everyone was screaming at eachother, both vocally and mentally. But one person heard nothing going on around him, saw nothing going on around him. Since Oliver had opened the scroll, he was lost in another time and place.  
  
[Ten hooded figures stood in a circle. He was one of them. Standing at the door directly across from him were three strange beings who seemed to emit a pale glow. They were also hooded and cloaked. A young girl, who appeared unconcious, lay in the center.   
  
In unison, the ten figures in the circle raised their hands, him included. A bright glow began to appear around the girl. He had the feeling of something deep within him being ripped away. And then they all collapsed to the floor. The last thing he saw was the girl looking around the room, obviously confused and scared, not seeing the three beings approach her, knives out and gleaming in the torchlight.]  
  
He blinked as the vision faded from his mind. The din around him continued to grow.  
  
"SILENCE!"  
  
The room went dead quiet as everyone looked to see who had uttered the sudden outburst.  
  
Ray stood slowly and looked around at the mildly shocked faces. "I know where we have to go," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "And I know what we need to do."  
  
------------------TBC-------------------  
  
And now, to get to work on the next chapter while I'm still in the writing mood! 


	13. Chapter Twelve: An Angel Takes Flight

The Chosen  
  
Chapter Twelve: An Angel Takes Flight  
  
Author: Kameko-chan  
  
Warnings: Yaoi. Swearing. CHARACTER DEATH IN THIS CHAPTER!!! (or is it? Ohohoho!)  
  
Pairings: Kai/Ray, Tala/OC, hints of Max/Tyson  
  
Notes: Like it says up there, CHARACTER DEATH!!! So don't say I didn't warn you.  
  
-------------------------------  
  
"I told you we'd die out here! We're all out of water and this stupid temple is nowhere to be found! Thanks a lot, Oliver!"  
  
A pause. "Elaina, you DO remember that you're the Chosen of WATER, right?"  
  
Silence. "Shut up."  
  
It really was an odd assortment of people. Adri was still wearing her ceremonial-robe-and-jeans ensemble, which oddly didn't have a speck of sand on it despite their walking in the desert for 4 days. Joel also had jeans but skipped the robe in favor of a t-shirt and several gun holsters. Why they needed guns in the middle of nowhere was still a mystery, but no one was about to say anything. Hannah donned a black kimono, Ray his traditional outfit, and Kai still had his scarf wrapped tightly around his neck. Everyone else was a typical shorts and t-shirt outfit, although Max had insisted his be bright orange and only pink would do for Oliver.  
  
And it was this rag-tag group of teenagers upon which rested the fate of the entire planet.  
  
//We're doomed.//  
  
//Don't be so pessimistic, Kai.//  
  
Kai glared playfully at Ray, who grinned, happy to lighten Kai's dark mood even if only a little. In the back of his mind, though, Ray felt uneasy. He hadn't told anyone the exact details of his vision, only the approximate location of the temple and that he'd explain the ritual further when they reached it. How could he tell them that one of their number may have to be sacrificed for this to work? And worse yet, how was he supposed to tell them that even if they could make it work without the sacrifice, all the Chosen would die?  
  
That had been what happened to him in his vision, he was sure of it. The priests of Egypt long ago had converted their very souls to raw energy, and when they'd returned that energy to the earth, they'd been left without souls. Without a soul, one could not live. Ray knew it to be the same for them; their powers and their souls were one in the same, and when one left the other would be gone as well.  
  
Not for the first time, Ray wished he'd never seen the vision. Wished that he'd never learned he was a Chosen. He wished everything to be like it was.  
  
'Well,' he thought, looking over at Kai, who was doing an admirable job of controlling his temper and not grinding Adri's face into the sand, 'Not quite like it was before.' That was the only part of this whole experience he did not regret. Seeing Kai truly happy...  
  
He'd find a way to make them live through this. He had to.  
  
"Hey!" Tyson said, waving his arms like a madman, "Is that it? Huh? Is it??"  
  
Ray looked up and saw it. The temple he'd seen in his vision.  
  
***  
  
Joel kicked the door once more. "What the fuck?? How are we supposed to do this damn ritual if we can't even get into the stupid building?"  
  
Adri rolled her eyes. "Yes Joel, keep kicking the door. It worked so well the LAST 50 times you tried."  
  
"You may be my sister, but don't think for a second I won't lay a smackdown on you if you provoke me..."  
  
Oliver sighed and decided to ignore the bickering siblings. "There must be some sort of key, but what?" He scrutinized the carvings around the door. "I wish I could read hieroglyphics, it would make this SO much easier... Hmmm, a bird, a tiger, and... a panther, maybe? Stupid Egyptians, why couldn't they just use letters?"  
  
"Maybe I could look them up on the internet!" Kenny suggested, whipping out his trusty laptop. "I'm sure Dizzi can get a connection, even out here."  
  
"Great idea, Chief!" Olliver said, grinning and sitting in the sand beside the bespectacled boy. The two proceeded to research ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, which quite frankly did not interest anyone else. At Tyson and Max's insistence, the rest of the group gathered together to "Get to know each other before we save the world and all that" as Tyson cheerily put it. "After all, I don't think I've even heard Luma and Demos talk!"  
  
Katrina's eyes went wide while Adri and Joel shifted uncomfortably. "Didn't Olli tell you guys?" Katrina asked, shooting a glare at her brother. "He'll ramble on and on about useless historical crap, but he doesn't mention... fucking hell..."  
  
Kai quirked an eyebrow, his familiar 'I'm surrounded by idiots' look finally making a reappearance. "Care to repeat that--using full sentences, mind you--for those of use who don't know what the hell you're talking about?"  
  
Kat opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Demos smacking her across the head with a thin, white cane. "Ow!! Demos, what was that for? I think the physical injury was unnecessary!"  
  
"You're just lucky I'm naturally docile," Demos said dryly, folding his cane back up and returning it to his backpack, "Because I'm fairly certain I now have an idea of how a girl with PMS feels." He turned his eyes towards the Bladebreakers, who had unconsciously grouped together. Ray noticed for the first time that the other boy's eyes were a very milky blue. He'd never seen a color like that before.  
  
Tyson noticed as well, apparently, but was much less subtle about such a discovery.  
  
"Hey, your eyes are really weird!"  
  
Used to Tyson's sheer stupidity by now, the Bladebreakers simply sighed in unison. Demos smiled a little. "Well, Tyson, that would be because I'm blind. Luma's deaf. Communication using words or sign language is thus very, very difficult. That's why you haven't heard either of us talk much."  
  
Judging by the way Tyson's mouth was opening and closing without releasing its usual torrent of noise, he was at a loss for words.  
  
Max, however, picked up the slack. "But you're Chosen!" the blonde exclaimed, eyes wide with shock. "Shouldn't you be protected from this kind of thing or something? What good is all that magic if you can still be crippled?!"  
  
Demos' eye twitched a bit. "'Crippled' isn't how I'd phrase it," he said, teeth clenched. "We've got some flaws we couldn't help. It didn't ruin our lives anymore than your amazing ability to insert your foot into your mouth has."  
  
Max had the decency to blush. On the other end of the shame scale, Hannah gave our blind boy an 'Oh my fucking God, let me bear your children' look.  
  
Luma grinned. "Don't mind him," she said, voice a little loud but perfectly clear. "He's a little sensitive about our problems. We got some grief when we were younger."  
  
"Wait, how'd you..."  
  
Luma pointed to her eyes. "I can see, so I can lip-read. It's not so bad that way, no one even notices I'm deaf unless they talk to me when I'm not looking."  
  
Max's cheeks reddened again. "I'm sorry about what I said, I wasn't--"  
  
"Don't worry about it," Demos replied, relaxing into his spot again. "You didn't mean any harm."  
  
"Augh!!!" Oliver yelled, breaking the silence before it became uncomfortable. "If these symbols aren't hieroglyphs, then what are they?"  
  
Kenny's brow furrowed... well, if you could've seen his brow, it would've been furrowing. "I don't know, Oliver. It doesn't make any sense... why would Egyptians have used a code on here? I'm sure that the only people who can get in here are Chosen, anyways. Why the secrecy?"  
  
Kai rose from his spot next to Ray and strode over to the door. Peering at the symbols a moment, he removed his Beyblade from his pocket and detached the bit chip from it. He dusted some sand from underneath one of the bird symbols and revealed a thin slot. Kai then inserted his chip, touched the symbol, and watched with smug satisfaction as the bird glowed red.  
  
Kenny and Oliver stared at the glowing carving with wide eyes. "How did you figure that out?" Kenny asked, voice full of awe.  
  
Kai shrugged. "It was a carving of a phoenix. I thought it was pretty obvious." He looked at the group of teens nestled together in the sand. "I suppose you all have bitbeasts too, then?"  
  
They nodded in unison.  
  
"Well, don't just stand there, put them in the slots. Idiots."  
  
One by one, the remaining nine Chosen placed their bitchips beneath their respective pictures: dragon, tiger, panther, unicorn, butterfly, dove, raven, cat, and snake. When each carving had begun to glow, the massive stone door started to move slowly aside, revealing a dark corridor.  
  
A snap of Luma's fingers and the hall lit up like daylight. Ever cautious, Demos and Kat worked together to hide the group from any prying eyes, Demos hiding their bodies and Kat masking their magical presence.  
  
Ray was feeling sick. He could sense the death in the air; the same suffocating presence that he'd felt the day Hannah killed their parents. Yet he could also feel life, the bright, happy, golden feeling of life. For this place was the origin of the Earth's life. The planet would have died long ago had those priests not found a way to bring new vitality to it. But the price they paid... it was heavy, far too heavy. Ray shuddered at the thought of what had happened to those ancient beings: souls torn from their bodies and converted to energy, leaving only memories of them in this world and not a whisper of their spirits in the next. It was the worst death, death without eternity, a complete and utter eradication of existence.  
  
Ray gripped Kai's hand so tightly that his knuckles went white. He didn't want to die, not when he had so much living left to do. They were all still so young.  
  
There had to be a way to save them. There HAD to be!  
  
Kai noticed a single tear slip down the tanned flesh of his companion's cheek, but didn't say a word.  
  
"Hey, this must be it!" Max exclaimed as they stepped into a large, round chamber. There were twelve round stones arranged in a circle around a raised platform in the centre of the room. Each stone bore a carving that matched one of the Chosen's symbols, twin elements placed opposite one another.  
  
"What's the thing in the middle for?" Tyson asked, his face openly showing his puzzlement.  
  
"Oh, I know!" Joel said cheerily.  
  
Ray gave him a questioning look. "You do?"  
  
Joel smiled brightly. "Yep!" Ray's stomach gave a funny jolt as he saw something flash in the boy's hazel eyes. Something cold. Something...  
  
Joel pulled a gun from its holster and aimed it at Tala's head. "It's for you," he said calmly, pulling the trigger and sending a crimson spray of blood across the room.  
  
A scream ripped apart the hallowed silence of those ancient halls as Elaina watched her beloved fall to the ground, rich ruby liquid pooling about his head like a bloody halo.  
  
All Ray could do was watch in stunned silence as Joel turned to him, malicious smirk on his face. "You're not the only one who gets visions, prettyboy."  
  
TBC  
  
---------------------------------  
  
Thanks to Shaka for giving me the idea for Demos' blindness. And then I HAD to make Luma deaf, 'cause otherwise it just wouldn't be fair.  
  
So, have recent events surprised anyone? Good lord, I hope so. I live for plot twists. Sorry to the Tala fans, but this was necessary. I didn't start out with the intent of killing him, but somewhere around chapter 8 I realized that I needed to. But is he dead for keeps? My answer: kinda- sorta. =P All will be explained next chapter, which is, coincidentally, the last! Chapter 13 and the epilogue will be posted at the same time (though as separate entries, so make sure you read both!) and then the Chosen will be complete!! Yessss!!!  
  
As per usual, thank you to all my reviewers. *hands you all cookies* Love you.  
  
As an added note: Ray, what the hell?! Kai was supposed to be the main character, what happened to that??  
  
Ray: I'm an attention whore!  
  
Fair enough. 


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Hope in Death

The Chosen  
  
Chapter Thirteen: Hope in Death

  
Author: Kameko-chan  
  
Warnings: Yaoi. Swearing. MORE CHARACTER DEATH!!!!  
  
Pairings: Kai/Ray, Tala/OC, hints of Max/Tyson  
  
Notes: Extra-long chapter. I really wanted to finish it up, so lucky you!

-------------------------

Joel turned his gun on the knot of frightened teenagers staring at him in mute horror. "I suggest you all cooperate with me, I don't want to kill any more of you than necessary."

It was Tyson who found his voice first. "Joel... why'd you do that?" Fear made the normally energetic boy's voice quake. He flinched as Elaina let out another wrenching sob. "Why'd you kill--" The ringing of a gunshot cut Tyson off. He let out a sharp gasp as his eyes went wide and he clutched his shoulder. Blood flowed freely from the wound.

Joel smiled coldly. "Does anyone else have a question?"

Shocked, Adri looked at her brother but could not see him. That person up there, it couldn't be her brother. Not her sweet, caring, happy-go-lucky sibling. No...

"NO!"

Joel turned to face Adri, eyes void of all their warmth. "Yes," he said quietly, raising the pistol now at his own kin and not giving a damn, not one fucking damn.

But shock did not paralyze everyone. Rage kept the numbness from creeping into Kai's legs, white-hot flames of anger rolled through his veins and he used it, every last once of the searing fury became a mental fire that he sent out to the one place it could do some good.

Joel cried out in pain as the gun in his hand glowed bright red, and he instinctively released the offending object.

In that instant, the cold shock chilling the room broke, and the other chosen sprung into action. Joel had begun to reach for his fallen weapon when Demos struck him blind. Still, that did not stop him; he let out a snarl and dropped to his hands and knees, groping about the stone floor. Joel grinned maniacally as his hand soon found his weapon. But his face quickly fell—along with the rest of him—as he lost the feeling in his arms and legs. He hit the ground with a satisfying clunk as Hannah grinned her self-satisfied half-grin.

Knowing the feeling would soon return to the other boy's limbs, Katrina twined a stray breeze around his limbs. This gave Oliver enough time to call upon the sand littering the ground to bind together and wrap tightly about Joel's wrists and ankles, fusing him to the stone floor.

They had only been in the temple for five minutes, and already it seemed like it had been an eternity.

Joel soon found himself face to face with Kai. "What the FUCK were you thinking?" Crimson eyes flashed angrily. "Explain yourself! Why did you shoot Tala?!"

Joel wouldn't say a word, he simply spit in Kai's face. He flushed an angry red and raised a fist to strike the offending youth beneath him...

A light hand stopped his blow. Kai looked and saw Luma, crystalline blue eyes regarding him warmly with a hint of amusement hidden in their depths. "I have an easier way," she said, smiling as she gently pushed him aside. Her gaze turned to the rebellious boy, struggling against his impossibly strong bonds of stone and sand. He in turn regarded her, the barest hint of fear in the back of his own hazel orbs.

Luma's smile widened. "Don't be frightened, Joel. I'm not going to hurt you." She placed a palm against his forehead and shut her eyes. "I'm just going to bring a few things to light."

Kai watched in amazement as Luma's hand glowed, the light seemingly seeping into Joel's skull. "Oh light of truth," he heard her mutter, "Make this one reveal the knowledge that we seek." The glow went out, and she blinked a few times before turning to Kai. "Okay," she said brightly, smile returned, "Ask him whatever you wish!"

Kai raised an eyebrow and leaned over Joel again. "Why did you do it?"

"I was paid to stop the ritual from taking place." Joel's speech was slow and halting, as if he were trying with all his might to keep the words from escaping his mouth and failing miserably. Whatever Luma had done to him had penetrated his will, manipulated his very mind. Kai marveled at the quiet, smiling girl standing beside him, calm and powerful and frightening.

But then Joel was speaking again, words pouring out of his mouth in streams. They came quicker and more clearly the more he spoke, as if they had become a rushing river that the boy could not contain. "I was supposed to stop this without killing any of you, because he's got big plans for the Chosen, big plans for all of us. He said he'd let me and Adri go if I did what he asked, and I'd get a nice paycheck to boot. I wasn't sure if I'd do it or not, but then I got the vision, the same one HE got," the ensnared boy managed to tilt his head towards Ray. "Only I got it first, months ago. And I know what he didn't tell you."

Kai turned his attention to Ray, as did everyone else present. The naturally tanned boy had gone deathly pale, and his eyes were wide and frightened. He shifted his gaze and looked into Kai's eyes, and Kai could see fear and love and agonizing heartbreak, and he wondered what the hell was going on.

With everyone staring at the feline-featured teen, Joel seized his opportunity for escape. A wave of dark, chaotic energy surged through the room, and the bonds holding Joel down flew apart, once again a harmless cloud of sand. He sprung up, freed from his bonds but not from Luma's influence. It didn't matter now, though. Joel was half-mad, and he wanted everyone to know it. He wanted to taunt them with his knowledge and his power; he wanted them all to know what he had done and why he had done it.

"Don't you think they should know?" Ray flinched at the other boy's harsh, mocking tone, too shocked and distracted and confused to notice the glint of insanity hidden behind the scorn. "Don't you think they have the right to know if they're not going to live to see another day?"

Oliver stepped up angrily. "We knew there'd be sacrifices, you idiot. I went into this knowing in my heart that I wouldn't be coming back. But if we don't do it, the entire planet will wither and die, along with every being on this earth, including us!" 

"Then at least I'll take the rest of the planet down with me!" Joel's power pulsed through him, his body not able to contain the swirling chaos of energy that was his magic. And as the dark, brooding power began to permeate the room, a familiar feeling washed over Kai. His emotions were heightened, especially his anger, that boiling, seething fury beneath the surface.

Kai snarled and somehow managed to pin Joel against a wall, realization only fueling the flames of his wrath. "It was YOU!" His voice quaked with that suppressed rage, whose source was now apparent. "It wasn't our magic running wild or any of that bullshit, you were the one making us go nuts!"

"I thought if you were emotional and confused, then you wouldn't be able to do the ritual in time." He was trapped again, but Joel didn't seem to care anymore. He needed to keep talking. "And then I thought I could make Tala kill himself, or injure himself enough to get hospitalized." Hazel eyes clouded over. "We could have done it without anyone dying, but you people wouldn't cooperate. I was left with no other option."

"Why Tala?! He's not a Chosen!!"

The cold, creepy grin was back in place. "Why don't you ask your little boy-toy over there?"

Kai glared, but shifted his eyes to Ray anyways. "Well?"

Ray's breathing had returned to normal, though his eyes were still wide and frightened. "He's the one, isn't he?" he asked quietly, staring past Kai at Joel. "He the one we were supposed to sacrifice. Only you've gone and done it too soon."

"Very good." Joel's crazed voice had gone eerily calm. "Yes, Tala was supposed to be the sacrifice. He is the pure one, the fallen angel who lived among death but was not tainted by it. And without him, the ritual cannot go on." The chaotic Chosen, in a sudden burst of energy, pushed Kai away with surprising force. "And now the entire world will join us in death!" Completely losing his mind now, Joel lunged for his gun with the obvious intent of killing anything he could aim at. And then, something happened.

First, Joel stopped dead in his tracks and put his hands at his throat. A low gurgling sound came out of his mouth, and it looked like he was having trouble breathing. Then, while he was preoccupied trying to clear his airways, a white blur tackled him from behind. As the pair hit the floor, Kai realized with a start that the blur had been Adri. She was straddling her brother's back, hands pressed against his temples and glowing silvery-white. Joel let out a cry, and then went silent.

Adri let out a sigh of relief as she slumped to the ground, completely exhausted.

Kai, forgetting his anger at the siblings (for without the influence of chaos, such a thing seemed to be far, far less important) went to see if they were harmed, but was stopped when he felt a tug on his wrist. He turned, and found himself staring into his sister's soft brown eyes. "They're fine, Kai. Joel's passed out from the water I summoned into his lungs, but he'll be fine when he wakes up. And Adri's just tired from trying to bring order back to Joel's mind." Kai winced as Elaina's grip tightened. "But _he's_ not okay!" she cried, gesturing to Tala with her free arm. "We have to help him, Kai! We can't just leave him like that!"

It pained Kai to see the desperation in his sister's eyes. "Elaina, I can't..."

"I can."

Beginning to feel like he was watching some sort of insane tennis match at this point, Kai turned now to face Ray. "You can?"

Ray nodded, determined expression on his face. "I think so. I've never brought anyone back to life before, but... I have to try." He took a deep breath and strolled over to the bloody corpse that he once called a friend. His eyes were still wide and staring, even emptier in death than they'd been in life. The stench of death assaulted his nose, and he could taste the bitter vile in the back of his throat. He breathed in deeply again, forcing his stomach to stop churning as he kneeled in the rapidly drying pool of blood. "I HAVE to try."

Because if I can't save him... how will I save any of them? 

Ray squeezed his eyes shut and let his power flow. And unbeknownst to him, the tenth and final symbol in that temporarily forgotten circle began to glow.

Yes, unnoticed by the preoccupied Chosen, the symbols they had seen carved into the floor had lit up one by one as each of them used their powers. Somehow, the inanimate pictures had made a connection with their corresponding Chosen, and when that final piece of the puzzle fell into place...

Ray gasped as he felt an intense surge of power. And not just any power, oh no. He realized with a start that this power came from the other Chosen; he felt the wild and endearing aura of Joel, the calm, collected intellect of Adri, and even the cynical wit of his own sister. He cried out and grasped at the power with his mind, for he knew that this wasn't just energy but _souls_, the very essence of their beings, and it was just flowing away from him and into Tala, and he had no control. They slipped past him and were lost forever.

The roar of power in Ray's ears drowned out the agonized screams of the tortured teens around him. Adri and Joel had even awakened from their brief slumbers, the lull of unconsciousness not nearly enough to protect them from the feeling of the very centers of their existences being ripped from their hearts.

The screaming didn't last long, however. One by one, each of the Chosen eventually went silent, eyes glazed over, their bodies limp and lifeless.

Ray wasn't aware of this. All that went through his mind was one thought.

_Kai_.

And when Ray felt the fiery determination of Kai begin to flow through him, he used all the strength he could muster to catch some of that blazing energy. He couldn't save everyone, and it was already too late to save his sibling. But he could still save the one he'd given his heart to. He could keep Kai alive.

Time slowed down to a crawl, and every second felt like a lifetime. Still, Ray clung to that little piece of Kai's soul, mental fingers continuing to grasp through sheer will alone as something far, far greater and more powerful than he used all it's might to rip his love away. Tears came to his eyes and he gritted his teeth and still, Ray refused to let go.

It seemed as though a millennia passed before the great, unseen force gave up. The agonizing surge of energy stopped all at once, and Ray sighed with relief and happiness at the blessed feeling of emptiness.

Then his energy abruptly drained away, and the world went black.

***

They watched with keen eyes as Ray crumpled to the ground. They were old, these beings, older than time itself it seemed. Of course, they were far from it. Each of the three had been born a mortal, made eternal to watch over the affairs of the world after it had nearly come to death. The Watchers, some called them, but they had not given themselves such titles. They were simply they, and that was enough for them.

"It is done," the one who had been silently and unanimously named leader declared. "Let us shed these mortal constraints while we do our work."

The other two nodded and closed their eyes. Soon, where three boys on the edge of adulthood had stood, three heavenly beings appeared. And yet, they still retained some features of the mortal forms they had taken. The first had silky blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, which had been such an odd coloring in his country and had been a constant source of ridicule and frightened stares during his life. The second was shorter than the other two, with bright green eyes partially covered by his soft brown mop of hair. His very presence had once radiated shyness and vulnerability, but such impractical characteristics had left him when he gave up his earthly life, and now his very aura commanded the utmost reverence. The third looked much like an older version of his worldly form; blue-black hair tumbled down his shoulders, his eyes a deep blue that hinted towards violet. These eyes, though, held the wisdom gained through thousands of years and lifetimes of living rather than the happy, carefree innocence of youth his previous form possessed. 

While their forms seemed those of mortals, it became instantly clear that they were not. Each of the beings held themselves with a grace unparalleled by any creature on this earth; they made the most graceful dancer seem a stumbling child. If that were not enough proof, had anyone been there to look upon them they would have seen that it did not matter that Luma's light had been extinguished, for they glowed from within and lit the dark cavern even more brightly than her spell had. In fact, all that has been described of them would have been invisible to any who chanced to cast an eye in their direction, so bright and clear was that inner light.

Their own beings no longer impressed them, however, and there was work to do. Most pressingly, there was a ritual to be completed, and time was running out. They had left things far too long this incarnation, they had gotten the timing wrong and now they had to hurry. Silent as shadows, they drifted to the gasping, coughing redhead sprawled on the floor. He was beginning to regain consciousness, his soul returning to where it was sure it would never be again. The Russian felt life flowing through his limbs, and he cried and praised the heavens and still his eyes were shut tight, as though he was frightened that this was all a dream and when he opened them he would be viewing the land of death. And so he did not see the knife. He cried out in surprise when he felt the cold steel pierce his skin, and for a heart-wrenching moment he thought he'd been brought back to life just to die again.

But the blade was removed, only the smallest of cuts on his finger to remind the teen of it's presence. And finally, Tala opened his eyes, only to shut them tight again when they were assaulted by the blinding brilliance of the figure in front of him.

"Don't be afraid, Tala." The softest, sweetest voice he had ever heard drifted to Tala's ear. "Just a little drop, and then it will be like none of this had ever happened."

"Where's Elaina?" Tala squinted and was able to see a vague outline of the one standing before him. "Where's Kai? Where's everyone?"

"They did their duty." The one who had been know in this incarnation as Tyson turned away. He had developed a friendship with this person, though all his experience and wisdom had told him not to he had done it anyways. And now he could not bear to look into Tala's eyes as he spoke. "Their souls rest in that single droplet at the end of your finger, and when it falls they shall nourish the earth as they were meant to."

Tala opened his mouth to protest, but it was too late. The drop hit the ground with a soft splash, and a spike of energy shot straight to the earth's core right beneath their feet. Tala lost consciousness once more as he shockwave sent him tumbling to the floor.

The blonde creature, the one known this lifetime as Max, drifted closer and placed a hand to the pale boy's forehead. Light gathered into his palm, and the heavenly one raised it to his lips and blew it out like a flame. That was it; the spell was done and the pure one's mind had been wiped clean of any memories of the incident. Now all that was left was for the other, Kenny as he was called, to rid the chamber of the corpses littering the ground. A light tap from the diminutive immortal, and the flesh would melt and become part of the soil and the air and all the thing is had been first made of.

But something was wrong. 

"Why have you not removed the bodies of Life and Fire?" the palest of the three asked.

Green eyes were troubled. "Because they are not dead."

The two were at his side in an instant. This was impossible. None had ever survived the ritual, save the so-called sacrifice. Yet there it was, two of the Chosen, battered and broken and in the deepest of sleep but undeniably alive.

The leader didn't say anything. His two companions were anxious, and looked to him for a decision, and in answer received a smile. "I think," he said, a happy tone in his voice and a glint of amusement in those ancient eyes, "that this is how it is supposed to be. Fire and Life... yes, can't you see it? Can't you see the reason?"

"That one's fiery passion, and the other's hunger for life," the smallest said quietly. "They mixed, giving them the strength to hold on to each other and save enough of themselves to survive."

"Their bond was strong, and their alignment a lucky accident. Even the bonds of family could not give the others the strength to live, but these ones could. The powers that should have ended their lives worked together to save them instead." Blonde hair was flipped back as he regarded their leader. "We leave them alive, then?"

"Yes. They earned it."

"We will have to erase their minds. They will not remember sharing their feelings. They may not remember their feelings at all."

Another smile. "They are in love. We could wipe their minds blank and send them to opposite ends of the world, and still they would find each other."

"And what of the one who lead Chaos astray?"

"We will deal with him."

---------TBC---------

Go read epilogue! I'll save my notes for the end of that.


	15. Epilogue: Together

The Chosen  
  
Epilogue: Together  
  
Author: Kameko-chan  
  
Warnings: Yaoi. Swearing.  
  
Pairings: Kai/Ray, Tala/OC, hints of Max/Tyson  
  
Notes: I've posted chapter 13 and the epilogue at the same time; make sure you've read both!  
  
----------------------------  
  
"Kai, quit being such a loner and blade with us!"  
  
It was a dance they were all accustomed to; one of them would ask Kai to join their game, he would refuse, and they would continue without Kai until the boy's curiosity got the better of him and he ventured out. Ray smiled and waited for the usual answer from his long-time crush.  
  
"Okay."  
  
Kai had to keep himself from smiling as Ray blinked rapidly in confusion. Kai's immediate acceptance was never part of the game, and Ray didn't know how to continue.  
  
"Oh," the golden-eyed teen finally replied, too bewildered to say anything else.  
  
And so Kai joined the group, and even Tala was there, his crippling depression having taken a turn for the better to everyone's joy. When they talked, Kai even joined in on the conversation, expressing his own curiosity at the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Dickenson. They didn't remain on that subject for long; Max, Tyson and Kenny seemed agitated when they mentioned it, as they did when they spoke of their old friend Oliver's disappearance. Soon, they gave up speech for some good, hard blading, and wore themselves out in their heated competition.  
  
As they lay on the lawn, late afternoon sun casting long shadows over their faces, Kai realized that the bag he kept his extra parts in seemed a bit heavier than normal. Curious, he rummaged in it briefly and found an entire extra Beyblade, one he had never seen before in his life. Aquamarine in color, and the bit chip was missing... It was, overall, nothing extraordinary. Yet when he looked at it, Kai felt something stir in his heart. A deep, profound sadness made his chest tighten, and he felt as though he'd forgotten something very important, though he could not think of what it was..  
  
But the Beyblade had awoken another feeling in him. Smothered by the inexplicable grief had been... happiness. No, more than happiness. Joy. Pure elation. But it had not been because of the owner of the object, he knew that as surely as he knew the sky was blue. And again, that faint feeling of something forgotten fluttered at the back of his mind.  
  
He doesn't know to this day what possessed him to do it, but at that moment, Kai leaned over and kissed Ray. It was soft and far too brief, but in that kiss Kai felt that flutter again, like a memory that lay just out of his reach. Ray felt it too, and he also felt with a start the familiarity of Kai's lips on his. They had never kissed before, but it seemed so... natural. Why...?  
  
The two pulled apart and stared at each other, saw the same questions in the other's eyes, and realized with some regret that they would get no answer. It was all so strange.  
  
But then Ray was in Kai's arms, and neither cared anymore. They were together, and they finally felt whole.  
  
---------END----------  
  
Hmmm... the epilogue wasn't quite what I was going for, but what are you gonna do? It's good enough =P  
  
It's finally done!!! Aren't you all proud of me for finishing it? I must admit, I never thought I could. Sorry about ending so abruptly, I'd originally wanted to make the story deeper, but I'd written myself into a corner and I needed to end it. It was the right time, I'm certain.  
  
Sorry to the Oliver fans!! He kinda got caught in the mass OC slaughter, and I didn't have a way to keep him alive. Er... if you're an Oliver fan, let's say that Tala kept some remnants of the Chosen's powers, and was able to pool them together to bring Olli back. Sound good? ^_^;; 'Cause that's the best I can do.  
  
If you didn't quite get it... Mr Dickenson was the one who hired Joel. I wanted to be kinda subtle about it, but I also don't want to have everyone go "Huh? Who hired Joel?" Hence this blurb ^_^ If you really want to know the details of his master plot, you can e-mail me. I just didn't find them vital enough to include in the story.  
  
I know I've said it before, but thank you to the reviewers. It is such a great feeling to read all your feedback, and I want you to know that I appreciate it immensely. *bows* Once again, thank you.  
  
*tosses away pen* Well, that's all, folks. It's been wild. Kisses to everyone.  
  
~Kameko-chan~ 


End file.
